World TB Day is on March 24, and the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is starting a big food basket program to help people with tuberculosis (TB). They're spending ₹1 crore to give food to 5,000 people who are sick with TB in the city.
The food baskets will have important things like rice, lentils, milk powder, roasted chickpea flour, oil, and vitamins. This is part of PMC's plan to help sick people. Since 2022, they've already given food to 7,500 TB patients by working with NGOs and companies.
The PMC is also helping patients with money. In 2024, they've helped 5,214 TB patients through a program called Direct Benefit Transfer, which means giving money directly to patients. The money they get every month has gone up from ₹500 to ₹1,000 since November. This shows that the PMC wants to help patients get better by giving them more money for their needs.
Studies show that giving good food can help save many lives. It's believed that this food support can stop about half a million people from dying from TB between 2023 and 2035.
The PMC's food program is a smart way to help sick people and shows they care about both their health and their food needs. This new program is a big step for Pune's health system. It helps people with TB by giving them food and money at the same time.
The PMC knows that to help sick people, we need to take care of their health and food together.
