• A ministerial meeting with the Health ministers of the member states of the WHO South-East Asian Region (SEAR) took place in Gandhinagar. 

• The meeting- Sustain, Accelerate and Innovate to End TB in SEAR was co-chaired by Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, WHO. 

The Gandhinagar declaration was signed at the meeting, which includes the following key points: 

1. It commends the initiatives to increase community participation such as the use of Nutritional baskets. 

2. It also expresses confidence that the member states will be able to end TB by 2030 by continued efforts in the right direction. 

3. Dr. Mandaviya reiterated India’s commitment to eliminating TB from India by 2025, five years ahead of the global Sustainable Development Goals. 

4. The Health Minister also emphasized the various initiatives undertaken by the country- including increased involvement of the private sector, the Nikshay Mitras, and the Nikshay Poshan Yojana initiative. 

• India has achieved a 13% reduction in TB incidence and a 15% decrease in mortality from 2015 to 2022.