India’s efforts to ensure early tuberculosis detection and treatment initiation, along with a host of community engagement efforts has resulted in a decline of 16% in TB incidence (new cases emerging each year) and a 18% reduction in mortality due to TB, since 2015.
(For top health news of the day, subscribe to our newsletter Health Matters)
The incidence rate in India had fallen from 237 per lakh population in 2015 to 199 per lakh population in 2022, while the mortality rate had declined from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 23 per lakh population in 2022, according to the India TB report 2024 released by the Union Health Ministry on March 27, stating that the country has set 2025 as the target for eliminating the disease.
Additionally, of all the TB cases notified in 2023, nearly 32% of notifications came from the private health care sector which is an increase of 17% from the previous year. According to the data released in the report, while the overall notification of TB cases has improved by over 50% in the last nine years on an annual basis, Uttar Pradesh saw the highest jump in notifications (by 21% compared to the previous year) followed by Bihar (15%).
The Centre added that after the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) embarked on a journey towards accelerating TB elimination, guided by the National Strategic Plan (NSP) 2017–25.
“The NTEP continued providing free diagnostic services, conducting approximately 1.89 crore sputum smear tests and 68.3 lakh nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) in 2023,” noted the report. Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under the Nikshay Poshan Yojana continued to provide financial support to TB patients, with approximately ₹2,781 crore disbursed to approximately one crore beneficiaries,” the report noted.
It added that more than 1.5 lakh Nikshay Mitras have come forward and committed to support persons affected with TB.
