D.P. Agarwal VCMD of Transport Corporation of India Limited; Kavita Ayyagari Director The Union and Dr. Munish Chander, Head, TCI Foundation with others on the occasion of signing of LoI

India CSR News Network

GURGAON: TCI Foundation, social arm of Transport Corporation of India Limited (TCI), signed LoI (letter of intent) with The Union South-East Asia Office and Central TB Division, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) Government of India to work jointly for the Call to Action for TB Free India Campaign.

The LoI on behalf of TCI Foundation was signed by Dr. Munish Chander, Head, TCI Foundation and Dr Jamhoih Tonsing, Regional Director of The Union South-East Asia in the august presence of D.P. Agarwal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Transport Corporation of India Limited.

The Program is aligned with the End TB Strategy that looks to reduce death due to TB by 95% (base year 2015) and aims at a 90% reduction in TB incidence rate and zero affected families facing catastrophic costs due to TB by 2035. The vision of the End TB Strategy is a world free of TB: Zero TB deaths, Zero TB Disease, and Zero TB suffering.

Kavita Ayyagari, Director The Union said, a TB-Free India is only possible if we have the participation of all the key stakeholders in creating awareness and to deliver integrated patient centred care and support with intensified research and innovation in the area of TB. The Union, through the Challenge TB is expected to contribute to TB control efforts in India through the Call to Action for TB-Free India initiative.

D.P. Agarwal expressed his concerns about the continuously increasing number of tuberculosis cases in India. He asserted that TB treatment to the underprivileged communities should be given utmost priority by all levels of government and the communities. The corporates should come forward to contribute in the reduction of dreaded disease. He said, if no string efforts are made to control the disease, the outbreak of TB may prove just too costly for the country to deal with.

There is tremendous momentum from all corners of the world but despite this momentum, Multi drug resistance tuberculosis (MDR-TB) still affects half a million people worldwide each year, said Dr. Munish Chander.

He elaborated that, it is a public health concern where many of the people with the disease are never diagnosed, continuing to transmit within their communities and suffer from their illness. MDR-TB wreaks havoc, not only on individual health and livelihoods but on families too, throwing them deeper into poverty when patients are relied on for financial support.

Spread silently through the air from one person to another, TB is a human tragedy that should be controlled with the united efforts of all, because properly managed MDR-TB can be cured. On the other hand, poorly managed TB can evolve into a form that resists multiple drugs, requiring long and expensive treatment with marginal results.

TCI Foundation has extensive expertise in the field of medical & healthcare services and shall implement the TB control program through its 21 clinics across twelve states in India. These clinics are well equipped with skilled medical and para medical staff to provide state of the art healthcare services to marginalized communities including truckers, migrants and mechanics etc. The microscopy examination and DOT services will be provided at selected clinics of TCI Foundation.

TCI Foundation is in vanguard to support and assist the communities including less privileged in India by facilitating Health Services, Education, Community and Sports Development. It is one of the enlisted organizations with United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNDOC).

Internationally, TCI Foundation in association with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was instrumental and successful in developing HIV Control program KAVACH worth 13 Million US$ funded project targeted for truckers in India. The Foundation also served Ethiopia and South Africa as technical support agency in the implementation of HIV control program amongst truckers.

The Foundation on behalf of other corporates/companies in India serves as CSR implementing agency within the ambit of Section 135 and Schedule VII of the Companies Act 2013. TCI Foundation is proudly associated with Government of India, State Governments, International Organizations, Public Sector Undertakings and Corporates of repute to deliver the quality controlled CSR activities in India.