‘Encouraging gains’: WHO lauds India for narrowing TB detection gaps, reducing mortality

The World Health Organization WHO on Tuesday lauded India for making lsquoencouraging gainsrsquo to end tuberculosis TB with narrowing detection gaps and reducing mortalityAccording to the recently released WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2025 Indiarsquos TB incidence fell by 21 per cent from 237 TB cases per lakh population in 2015 to 187 per lakh population in 2024 almost double the pace of decline observed globally at 12 per centThe countryrsquos TB mortality rate decreased from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 21 per lakh population in 2024 reflecting significant progress in reducing deaths due to TBThe flagship TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan launched in December 2024 has achieved extensive reach screening over 19 crore vulnerable individuals for TB across the country leading to the detection of over 245 lakh TB patients including 861 lakh asymptomatic TB cases the report saidGlobally 107 million people developed TB and 123 million died from the disease in 2024The WHO stated that India along with other countries in the South East Asia Region reported improvement in TBIn absolute numbers India had an estimated 271 million people with TB followed by Bangladesh 384000 Myanmar 263000 Thailand 104000 and Nepal 67000ldquoSeveral countries demonstrated encouraging gains Bangladesh India and Thailand notified a large proportion of estimated cases narrowing detection gapsrdquo the WHO saidldquoTBrelated mortality though substantial has shown signs of improvement in several Member States Bangladesh Bhutan India Nepal and Thailand reported declines in estimated deaths due to TB compared to 2015 supported by recovery of essential TB services in the postCovid19 erardquo it addedYet the global health body stated that the overall pace of decline across South East Asia remains insufficient to meet the 2025 End TB milestonesThe SouthEast Asia Region home to less than a quarter of the global population disproportionately accounts for more than one in every three new TB cases worldwide emerging annually the WHO saidDrugresistant TB continues to pose a serious threat with 150000 new cases estimated in 2024While the Region has reduced TB incidence by 16 per cent since 2015 but deaths are not falling fast enough Moreover the Regionrsquos TB incidence rate of 201 per 100000 people remains well above the global average of 131 the UN health body saidldquoTuberculosis continues to threaten health security and development across the SouthEast Asia Region hitting the poorest the hardestrdquo said Dr Catharina Boehme OfficerinCharge WHO SouthEast AsialdquoWe know what works early detection rapid treatment prevention and strong primary health care Whatrsquos needed now is speed scale and sustained political and financial commitmentrdquo she addedTB burden in 2024 continued to vary across the Region Myanmar and TimorLeste continued to record high TB incidence rates at around 480500 per 100000 population placing them among the higherincidence settings globallyBangladesh Bhutan India Nepal and Thailand reported incidence levels between 146 and 269 per 100 000 reflecting steady but tooslow declinesSri Lanka and the Maldives remained relatively lowincidence settings with incidence ranging from 5099 and 1049 cases per 100000 population respectivelyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever