Pilot project launched in Kozhikode to detect tuberculosis among workers

HIV, non-communicable diseases too made part of screening process of SWEET project

A national-level pilot project to detect tuberculosis (TB), HIV and non-communicable diseases such as diabetes among workers has been launched in Kozhikode district. It has been titled System for Workplace Engagement to Eliminate TB (SWEET).

P.P. Pramod Kumar, district TB and AIDS control officer, told The Hindu that migrant labourers formed a large chunk of the workforce at present. Prevalence of TB and HIV was found to be high among them. Kozhikode has a huge share of migrant labourers with HIV. The public health system missed many of the cases because of the pandemic. “We found it difficult to screen these people at their residences. So we contacted their employers and devised a plan to conduct medical camps and tests at their workplaces,” he said.

Since Kozhikode and Ernakulam districts have a high number of migrant labourers, the scheme was proposed to be first launched in these places. Companies that employ more than 1,000 workers are targeted in the scheme. Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society, which employs the highest number of workers in the district, is the first to be covered.