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    WHO Global TB Report 2025: Key Insights and India’s Progress Toward TB Elimination

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    Current Affairs, In-news, Mains-questions

    Why in the News?

    The Global TB Report 2025, released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on November 12, highlights that although India’s tuberculosis burden continues to decline, the country is nowhere close to achieving the ambitious target of eliminating TB by 2025.
    In 2024, India reported 27.1 lakh TB cases and more than three lakh deaths, making it one of the largest contributors to the global TB caseload. This raises important questions about India’s progress, challenges, and the way forward.

    Understanding Tuberculosis

    Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, primarily affecting the lungs, though it may impact other organs.
    Transmission occurs through airborne droplets expelled when an infected person coughs, sneezes, talks, or laughs.

    Globally, TB remains the deadliest infectious killer, infecting 10.7 million people and causing 1.23 million deaths last year.

    Treatment varies based on whether the infection is drug-sensitive or drug-resistant, and recovery requires a nutritious, immunity-boosting diet along with adherence to lengthy medication regimens.

    Key Highlights from the Global TB Report 2025

    1. Slow Progress Toward Elimination Targets

    Between 2015 and 2024, India achieved:

    • 21% reduction in new TB cases
    • 28% reduction in TB deaths

    However, the End TB targets for 2025 require:

    • 50% reduction in incidence
    • 75% reduction in deaths

    Thus, India has met only half of even the 2020 global milestones.

    Global comparison
    • India’s reduction is ahead of the global average (12% decline in incidence), but insufficient to reach elimination.
    2. India Still Has One of the Highest TB Burdens

    In 2024, India:

    • Registered 27.1 lakh TB cases
    • Recorded over 3 lakh TB deaths

    This burden makes India one of the top contributors to global TB cases.

    3. Treatment Coverage at an All-Time High

    India’s treatment coverage improved to 92% in 2024, up from 85% in 2023.
    This success is linked to shorter and more effective drug regimens such as:

    BPaL Regimen
    • B-Bedaquiline
    • Pa-Pretomanid
    • L-Linezolid
      (+ sometimes Moxifloxacin → BPaLM)

    India is the world’s only supplier of Pretomanid, a critical drug in this regimen.
    The BPaL regimen shortens treatment for drug-resistant TB from 18–24 months to 6 months.

    4. Drug-Resistant TB Remains a Concern

    India accounts for one-third of global drug-resistant TB cases.
    Although the burden has not increased sharply, it remains a major public health challenge.

    5. High Treatment Success Rate

    For patients who began treatment in 2023, the success rate was 90%, higher than the global average of 88%.

    India’s Efforts to Eliminate TB by 2025

    India’s elimination target—five years ahead of WHO’s 2030 goal—was announced in 2018.
    Important initiatives include:

    1. Free TB Treatment for All

    TB medicines, including expensive drugs for drug-resistant TB, are provided free of cost in government facilities.

    2. Ni-kshay Ecosystem
    • Ni-kshay portal tracks notified cases in real time.
    • Ni-kshay Mitra allows individuals/organizations to adopt TB patients and provide monthly nutritional support.
    WHO Definition
    • TB Elimination = less than 1 case per million population
    3. Tackling Treatment Adherence

    Innovations include:

    • Digital pill boxes to track daily medicine intake
    • Shorter treatment regimens like BPaL and BPaLM
    4. Technological Innovations
    • AI-enabled handheld X-ray devices for community screening
    • 100-day intensive screening campaigns to detect even asymptomatic cases
    5. Newer Drugs in Public Health System

    Inclusion of Bedaquiline and Delamanid has strengthened drug-resistant TB management.

    World Tuberculosis Day

    Observed On:

    March 24 every year
    Significance: Marks the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Dr. Robert Koch in 1882.

    Theme (This Year):

    “Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver”
    This theme emphasizes a global call to action, stronger political commitment, adequate financing, and aggressive action, especially against rising drug-resistant TB.

    Socioeconomic Impact of High TB Burden in India
    • TB disproportionately affects the poor, worsening poverty cycles.
    • Productivity loss due to illness and mortality affects the working-age population.
    • High out-of-pocket expenses push families into financial distress.
    • Burden on the public health system delays India’s progress toward universal healthcare.
    Challenges in Meeting the 2025 Target
    • High prevalence and underdiagnosis in remote areas
    • Stigma causing delayed treatment
    • Rising drug-resistant TB
    • Need for strong nutritional support
    • Gaps in private sector reporting
    • Long treatment duration and poor adherence
    Conclusion

    India has made significant progress in treatment coverage, technology adoption, and innovative drug regimens, and it remains ahead of global averages on several indicators.
    However, the ambitious 2025 elimination target remains out of reach given the current burden.

    To move closer to WHO’s 2030 End TB goals, India must:

    • Strengthen community engagement
    • Scale up screening and early diagnosis
    • Ensure universal drug availability
    • Improve nutrition and social support
    • Invest in research and vaccine development

    With sustained commitment, India can accelerate its progress toward ending TB as a public health threat.

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