During a public meeting in the Nandurbar tribal district of Maharashtra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined his party’s commitment to eliminate sickle cell anemia on a national scale. “Congress has never cared about tribal brothers and sisters. Sickle cell anemia is a major threat in tribal areas. But Congress did not pay much attention to this disease. It is the BJP that has launched a campaign to eradicate sickle cell disease in the bud. So that no poor person suffers from malnutrition, we are also concerned about this,” Prime Minister Modi said.
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Having spent a lot of time among tribal communities in different parts of the country over the last few decades, Prime Minister Modi has previously stated that tribal society is “not just a government statistic” but a “matter of empathy and emotional concern ” by the BJP. It is also not the first time that Prime Minister Modi has highlighted his firm determination to eliminate the genetic blood disease that is most common in India’s tribal population and affects the lives of over 2.5 lakh children and their families every anus.
Pioneering mission in the elimination of sickle cell anemia
Last July, when launching the Sickle Cell Elimination Mission, he made it clear that the campaign for the liberation of this hereditary disease – “which was not even a problem for previous governments due to their indifference towards tribal society ” – will become the main mission of ‘Amrit Kaal’. The government led by him, Prime Minister Modi assured, is working in “mission mode” to free tribal families – and the entire country – from sickle cell anemia by 2047, when the nation celebrates its 100 years. of independence.
This is being achieved by increasing the number of blood banks for patients requiring blood transfusions and opening new facilities for bone marrow transplants. Prime Minister Modi’s deep understanding of the debilitating impact that sickle cell anemia has on the body comes from intense interactions he had not only with the tribal communities but also with the world’s leading experts since long before he became Chief Minister of Gujarat.
“Even after becoming Chief Minister of Gujarat, I started many campaigns in this regard. When I visited Japan after becoming Prime Minister, I met a Nobel laureate scientist there. I came to know that he had done a lot of research on a cure for sickle cell anemia,” he said last year.
Prime Minister Modi was referring to his 2014 meeting with Japanese stem cell pioneer and 2012 Nobel Prize winner Shinya Yamanaka at the iPS Cell Research and Application Center in Kyoto, during which he expressed concern about the prevalence of sickle cell anemia among tribal communities across India. Prime Minister Modi and senior BJP leaders have also mentioned that the government is working tirelessly to eradicate many other serious diseases since coming to power in 2014. This includes working to completely eliminate tuberculosis by 2025 and ensuring that TB cases Kala-azar, malarialeprosy and meningitis reduce by a significant number.
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Source-IANS
