In an effort to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) in the districts of Nagpur and Chandrapur in Maharashtra, Western Coalfields Limited (WCL), a division of Coal India Limited, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Swarlipi Charitable Trust (SCT) to initiate a significant CSR project. An important step towards India’s objective of having no tuberculosis by 2025 was taken Friday with the signing of the accord. WCL will carry out a comprehensive programme called “Stamping Out TB – TB Prevention, Detection, and Management” as part of the cooperation. The program’s main objectives will be early detection, door-to-door screening, and providing impacted people with nutritional support. The initiative is being implemented in coal mining areas where inhabitants and employees are more susceptible to respiratory ailments.

G. Sitaraman, General Manager (CSR/Welfare), and Dr D.K. Singh, Chairman, Swarlipi Charitable Trust, signed the Memorandum of Understanding in front of Dr Hemant Sharad Pande, Director (HR), WCL. In one of India’s most industrially busy but health-vulnerable areas, the project aims to improve community resilience and public health infrastructure. Using portable diagnostic kits, trained healthcare professionals will do door-to-door TB screening as part of the “Stamping Out TB” initiative. In order to address malnutrition, a major contributing factor to TB vulnerability, the initiative will provide nutrition kits and connect patients to treatment through the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP). To dispel societal stigmas associated with the illness, awareness campaigns will also be carried out through local media, school events, and street performances. The programme is a component of WCL’s larger CSR strategy to improve healthcare in areas impacted by mining. The business has previously run educational

This MoU is a gear in India’s massive anti-TB machine; it is not working in a vacuum. Although the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s main programme, the NTEP, has reduced incidence by more than 20% since 2015, other areas, such as the coal belt of Maharashtra, still lag behind. This nationwide initiative is strengthened by WCL’s CSR injection, which makes use of its closeness to impacted communities and could serve as a template for other PSUs. The initiative eliminates duplication by integrating with NTEP protocols, which increases impact by sharing resources and data.