WHO commends India for 18% drop in tuberculosis cases from 2015 to 2023.

NEW DELHI (The Uttam Hindu): The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recognized India’s progress in combating tuberculosis (TB) in its latest global report on the disease. The report indicates that TB incidence in India has decreased by 18%, falling from 237 cases per lakh population in 2015 to 195 per lakh in 2023. This rate of decline is more than double the global average of 8%. "This significant improvement is a result of the momentum generated by India in TB case detection and reflects efforts to decentralize healthcare services through over 1.7 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs across the country," a health ministry official stated.

While WHO had previously revised its estimates of TB mortality in India, the current report highlights a sustained decrease in deaths from 28 per lakh population to 22 per lakh, representing a 21% reduction. The TB budget also saw a historic increase, rising from Rs 640 crores in 2015 to Rs 3,400 crores in 2022-23, according to the health ministry. The WHO report notes that most funding for the TB program is sourced from government resources. Who commends India for 18% drop in tuberculosis cases from 2015 to 2023.Additionally, the Centre is acquiring over 800 AI-enabled portable chest X-ray machines to enhance India’s extensive TB laboratory network, which is the largest in the world, featuring 7,767 rapid molecular testing facilities and 87 culture and drug susceptibility testing laboratories.

In September, the government approved the introduction of the BPaLM regimen—a novel treatment for Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB)—under its National TB Elimination Program (NTEP) as an effective and shorter treatment option. From January to September 2024, India reported 19.8 lakh TB patients, compared to 19 lakh during the same period in 2023, marking a 4% increase.