The Indian Government and the World Bank have committed to a shared goal of eradicating Tuberculosis (TB) by 2025. This collaboration includes a loan agreement of $400 million, purposed towards the Program Towards Elimination of Tuberculosis. The partnership between these two entities spans two decades, during which the World Bank’s programs have facilitated treatment for over 20 million people and prevented approximately 3.5 million deaths since 1998.
The Program Towards Elimination of Tuberculosis
The program is specifically tailored to enhance the scope and efficiency of TB control interventions in nine key states: Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Assam, and Tamil Nadu. Its function is to supplement the National Strategic Plan of the Government of India, aimed at extinguishing TB in India by 2025.
Strategies and Actions
The program will enhance diagnostics, manage drug-resistant tuberculosis, and expand the capacity of public institutions involved in TB treatment. It offers financial incentives for private sector care providers for reporting TB cases and ensuring patients complete their treatments. Additionally, Direct Benefit Transfers to patients will enable them to acquire critical nutrition required during treatment. The program also aims to strengthen the monitoring and implementation of Nikshay, a web-based TB case monitoring system introduced by the government.
The Need for the Program
Every year, TB claims approximately half a million lives in India. Drug-resistant TB forms a significant public health threat in the country. Despite increasing TB case notifications, India grapples with over a million missing cases annually, most of them either undiagnosed or inadequately diagnosed and treated in the private sector.
| TB Statistics | Data |
|---|---|
| Annual deaths due to TB in India | 500,000 |
| Drug-resistant TB cases per year | Millions |
| Missing cases per year | Over 1 million |
National Strategic Plan (NSP) to end TB
The NSP to end TB outlines ambitious and innovative steps needed to eradicate TB in India by 2025. Four objectives form the bedrock of this plan: Detect, Treat, Prevent, and Build. Each goal aims at identifying all types of TB cases, beginning and sustaining appropriate anti-TB treatments, preventing the emergence of TB in susceptible populations, and establishing empowering policies and institutions.
About Tuberculosis (TB)
TB is a bacterial infection largely affecting the lungs that spreads through respiratory droplets in the air. TB symptoms include persistent cough, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, fever, and night sweats. Although curable, TB treatment requires a regular six-month course of four antimicrobial drugs, often assisted by healthcare professionals or trained volunteers.
Global Burden of TB
In 2017, the majority of new TB cases were concentrated in South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions with 62% of all new cases. Eight countries accounted for two-thirds of the new cases, with India leading the charge, followed by China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh and South Africa.
Global Actions Against TB
As part of the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals, the World Health Organization’s End TB Strategy aims to reduce TB deaths by 90%, cut new cases by 80% between 2015 and 2030, and to alleviate families from the economic burden of TB. The world stands united in its fight against TB, determined to end the TB epidemic by 2030.
