TITLE:
Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) Tribal Action Plan Fund Utilisation: How Does Chhattisgarh State in India Fare?
AUTHORS:
Gayadhar Mallick, Sharath Burugina Nagaraja, Karuna D. Sagili, Kshitij Khaparde, Srinath Satyanarayana, Sarabjit Chadha
KEYWORDS:
Fund, Tuberculosis, Tribal Action Plan, RNTCP, India
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Tuberculosis Research,
Vol.7 No.1,
January
17,
2019
ABSTRACT: Background: In India, tuberculosis remains as a major public health problem amongst the tribal population. Poor physical access to diagnosis and treatment under the Revised National TB control programme (RNTCP) still remains the problem for the population. RNTCP implements Tribal Action Plan (TAP) for tribal patients. We conducted the study to determine the trends of financial utilisation for the special provisions available under tribal action plan like patient honorarium, incentive for sputum collection and transport, incentive for programme staff and incentive for vehicle maintenance. Methods: A cross-sectional study based on mixed method study approach was conducted in Chhattisgarh, India during Nov. 16 to Jun. 17. District TB Officers implementing TAP were interviewed telephonically using a semi-structured questionnaire to ascertain and analyse the reasons for low fund utilization in their districts. Retrospective financial data for five financial years from 13 TAP districts for 2012-2013 to 2016-2017 was collected, compiled and analysed. Results: Overall, the trends on states expenditure on tribal action plan in terms of absolute numbers has increased over the past five years; however, in terms of fund utilization against received ranges from 37% - 86% with the utilization rate less than 44% in the recent years (2014-2017). Conclusion: The trends of utilisation of TAP is less than 44% over the recent years. There is an urgent need for the administrators to intervene and improve the efficiency of fund utilisation at State and district levels.