Canara Bank MoU for TB Nutrition Support in Gadchiroli District Gadchiroli: On Tuesday, the district administration and Canara Bank formalized a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to provide nutritional support to tuberculosis (TB) patients across Gadchiroli district. The agreement, signed at the collector’s office in the presence of district collector Avishyant Panda and Canara Bank’s divisional assistant manager Mrityunjay Kumar Jha, allocates Rs 72 lakh for the initiative under the Centre’s Nikshay Mitra program. This marks Canara Bank’s registration as a Nikshay Mitra, a scheme aimed at improving TB treatment outcomes through holistic care. The MoU expands the scope of nutritional support beyond the earlier pilot program, which was limited to mining-affected areas under the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) funds. Officials noted that the new initiative will now cover TB patients in northern Gadchiroli, a region outside the DMF’s jurisdiction. The scheme aims to address the critical role of nutrition in TB recovery, as malnourishment is a known barrier to treatment success. Under the agreement, regular distribution of nutrition kits will be organized through women’s self-help groups (SHGs) under the Umed Abhiyan initiative. These groups will handle procurement, packaging, and delivery of the kits via local sub-centres. This approach not only ensures efficient distribution but also provides the SHGs with an additional source of income, fostering community engagement and economic empowerment. The initiative underscores the collaboration between financial institutions and public health systems to combat TB, a disease that remains a significant public health challenge in India.#gadchiroli_district #canara_bank #nikshay_mitra #umed_abhiyan #district_collector_avishyant_panda
