March 21, 2024
Recent global research published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal has unveiled a concerning trend: India’s fight against tuberculosis (TB) is falling short of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) ambitious targets. Despite efforts to combat the bacterial infectious disease, the incidence of TB in India saw only a marginal decrease of 0.5 percent between 2015 and 2020, failing to meet the WHO’s END-TB milestone for 2020.
The WHO’s End TB Strategy, aimed at reducing TB deaths by 90 percent and TB incidence rates by 80 percent by 2030, compared to 2015 figures. However, the latest study indicates that India’s TB incidence rate remains alarmingly high, with 213 cases per one lakh population in 2020, well above the WHO’s milestone figure of 171 per one lakh population. Similarly, deaths attributed to TB in India were estimated to range between 3.5-5 lakh, exceeding the mortality milestone of 2.7-3.2 lakh set for the country.
As the world prepares to mark World Tuberculosis Day on March 24th, the study’s findings underscore the global challenge in meeting TB-related goals. The researchers, forming the Global Burden Disease (GBD) 2021 Tuberculosis Collaborators, lamented the failure to achieve the first interim milestones of the WHO End TB Strategy in 2020, noting that progress has been uneven across different age groups.
Of the 204 countries analyzed, only 15 met the 2020 TB incidence milestone, with a majority of them situated in sub-Saharan Africa. The study highlights the success of novel case-finding interventions in countries like Nigeria, Tanzania, Cameroon, and Kenya, coupled with improved drug coverage for HIV treatment, as key contributors to reducing TB incidence in the region.
While 17 countries achieved the 2020 End TB mortality milestone, the researchers emphasized the role of drug resistance in hindering progress. They advocated for the adoption of WHO-endorsed regimens for treating drug-resistant TB, emphasizing the importance of shorter, safer treatment options.
Acknowledging the efforts of national social protection interventions in countries like Moldova and Ecuador, the researchers emphasized the need for comprehensive approaches to treatment adherence and prevention.
Despite some progress, challenges remain, particularly concerning the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on TB burden. Limited empirical data on the pandemic’s effects on TB underscore the need for continued research and vigilance.
The study’s comprehensive analysis sheds light on the ongoing struggle against TB globally and underscores the urgent need for coordinated efforts to meet the WHO’s ambitious targets. As TB continues to pose a significant public health challenge, sustained investment and innovation are imperative to achieve the End TB goals by 2030.
The Global Burden Disease study, coordinated by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington (UW), US, stands as a testament to the collective effort to quantify health loss and drive progress in combating infectious diseases worldwide.