Assam: NHM leads multi-stakeholder push for integrated lung health

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The National Health Mission (NHM), Assam, in collaboration with Jhpiego, Johnson & Johnson and Sattva Consulting, organised a high-level multi-stakeholder consultation on advancing integrated lung health, bringing together senior government officials, clinicians, public health experts, academic institutions and development partners to chart a roadmap for strengthening respiratory healthcare across the state.

Representatives from organisations including the Assam Cancer Care Foundation (ACCF), WHO-GOI National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP), TSU (TB), JSI, WJCF, PATH, India Health Foundation, Noora Health, Qure.ai, Molbio Diagnostics, Wadhwani AI, KHPT and Cipla participated in the consultation.

The meeting focused on leveraging Assam’s strong public health system and the National TB Elimination Programme to improve prevention, early diagnosis, referral mechanisms and coordinated care for respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, pneumonia and lung cancer.

NHM Assam Mission Director Dr Lakshmanan S., IAS, and Executive Director Dr Abhijit Sarma reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to strengthening integrated, equitable and accessible respiratory healthcare.

Opening the consultation, Jhpiego Country Director Dr Amit Shah said Assam’s well-established TB programme provides a strong foundation for advancing integrated respiratory care. He noted that while diseases such as COPD, asthma, pneumonia and lung cancer account for a significant disease burden, they continue to be managed through fragmented systems. He called for pilot implementation in selected districts to generate evidence for future statewide expansion.

Dr Debadutta Parija, programme director, Jhpiego, stressed that every individual presenting with respiratory symptoms should receive comprehensive, people-centred care irrespective of the final diagnosis. Senior Program Director Dr Suranjeen Prasad highlighted the need to break programme silos and strengthen coordination across policy, clinical care and health systems.

Presenting findings from stakeholder consultations, Lakshmi Sethuraman and Harsh Ghildiyal of Sattva Consulting identified opportunities to strengthen screening, referral pathways, workforce capacity, surveillance, governance and financing.

In his keynote address, Dr Lakshmanan emphasised that while tuberculosis remains a major public health priority, the growing burden of other respiratory diseases also requires a coordinated response. He called for a practical, phased implementation plan with clearly defined responsibilities, timelines and measurable indicators.

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