India’s Progress in TB Fight Recognized by WHO in 2024 Report
The World Health Organization (WHO) released its Global TB Report 2024, highlighting India’s significant progress in addressing tuberculosis (TB) since 2015. In 2023, India had 27 lakh TB cases, with 25.1 lakh diagnosed and treated, raising treatment coverage to 89% from 72% in 2015. India’s TB incidence dropped from 237 to 195 per lakh population, a 17.7% decline, outpacing the global decline of 8.3%.
This success is attributed to India’s efforts in decentralizing healthcare through over 1.7 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and strengthening the National TB Elimination Programme. The TB budget increased from Rs. 640 crores in 2015 to Rs. 3400 crores in 2022-23, with most funding from government resources. The private sector contributed 32.9% of cases in 2023.
India’s TB laboratory network, the largest globally, includes 7,767 rapid molecular testing facilities and 87 culture and drug susceptibility testing labs. The government is also procuring 800 AI-enabled portable chest x-ray machines. The Ni-Kshay Poshan Yojana support was enhanced to Rs. 1,000/month per patient, benefiting 25 lakh TB patients annually. Energy Dense Nutritional Supplementation (EDNS) will aid 12 lakh under-nourished TB patients.
The Union Health Ministry introduced the BPaLM regimen for Multi-Drug-Resistant TB, achieving an 87.6% treatment success rate in 2024. The Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan registered 54,448 new Ni-kshay Mitras and distributed 8.3 lakh food baskets. TB preventive treatment reached 12.23 lakh beneficiaries, and an adult BCG vaccination study began in collaboration with ICMR.
Doubts Revealed
WHO -: WHO stands for the World Health Organization. It is a special agency of the United Nations that works to improve health and well-being around the world.
TB -: TB stands for Tuberculosis. It is a disease caused by bacteria that usually affects the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body.
Lakh -: Lakh is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000). It is commonly used in India to express large numbers.
TB incidence rate -: The TB incidence rate is the number of new cases of tuberculosis that occur in a specific population during a certain time period. A decrease in this rate means fewer people are getting sick with TB.
Decentralizing healthcare -: Decentralizing healthcare means spreading out healthcare services so they are available in more places, not just in big hospitals in cities. This helps more people get the care they need closer to where they live.
BPaLM regimen -: The BPaLM regimen is a new treatment plan for MDR-TB, which stands for Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis. It uses a combination of medicines to treat TB that doesn’t respond to the usual drugs.
MDR-TB -: MDR-TB stands for Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis. It is a type of TB that is resistant to the two most powerful TB drugs, making it harder to treat.
