On Wednesday, India’s Health Ministry announced that the World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized India’s achievement in reducing tuberculosis (TB) incidence and mortality since 2015.
The Ministry stated, “India’s efforts have led to a 16 percent reduction in TB incidence in 2022 (from 2015), which is almost twice the rate at which global TB incidence is declining (8.7 percent). The mortality rate of TB has also decreased by 18 percent during the same period in both India and globally.”
“The WHO has revised its TB mortality rates from 494,000 in 2021 to 331,000 in 2022, marking a reduction of over 34 percent.”
The WHO released its Global TB Report 2023 on Tuesday, in which it commended India for its significant progress in improving case detection and mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on the TB program.
“The treatment coverage has increased to 80 percent of the estimated TB cases, a 19 percent rise from the previous year,” the health ministry added.
According to the Ministry, the report also recognized that India’s intensified case detection strategies led to the highest-ever notification of cases in 2022, with over 2.4 million TB cases being reported, exceeding pre-COVID levels.
“India has taken decisive steps to prioritize TB elimination efforts by allocating additional resources to the National TB Elimination Program under the National Health Mission,” the ministry quoted the report as saying.
