New York: The World Health Organization (WHO) has lauded India for making ‘encouraging gains’ to end tuberculosis (TB), with narrowing detection gaps and reducing mortality.
According to the recently released WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2025, India’s 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 cent.
The country’s 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 TB.
The 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 24.5 lakh TB patients, including 8.61 lakh asymptomatic TB cases, the report said.
Globally, 10.7 million people developed TB and 1.23 million died from the disease in 2024.
The WHO stated that India, along with other countries in the South East Asia Region, reported improvement in TB.
In absolute numbers, India had an estimated 2.71 million people with TB, followed by Bangladesh 384,000, Myanmar 263,000, Thailand 104,000, and Nepal 67,000.
“Several countries demonstrated encouraging gains. Bangladesh, India, and Thailand notified a large proportion of estimated cases, narrowing detection gaps,” the WHO said.
“TB-related 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 post-Covid-19 era,” it added.
