Srijoni Sarkar

Tuberculosis remains a significant public health issue worldwide especially in developing countries. India leads the world in its burden of tuberculosis (TB) due to its neglect as a public health problem, and mismanagement of TB patients in both public and private sectors. The original National Tuberculosis Programme (NTP), launched in 1962, failed because of several reasons. To overcome its shortcomings, the DOTS strategy was introduced in 1992 as an initiative under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP). Though the latter has been better funded and better managed, it is yet to address several key issues like lack of adequate and updated infrastructure, unregulation of the private practice sector and the emergence and increase in number of drug-resistant tuberculosis in India.