India has seen a 38% decline in TB mortality since 2015, says a WHO report

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India has seen a 38% reduction in tuberculosis (TB) mortality since 2015, compared to a global average of 35%, and a 94% treatment success rate for drug-susceptible TB patients, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Tuberculosis Report 2026.

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Last year, the Southeast Asia region recorded the largest number of new TB cases (35%), followed by the Western Pacific region (27%) and the African region (25%).

About 88% of new TB cases occurred in 30 countries. India (about a quarter), Indonesia (10%), the Philippines (6.8%), China (6.5%), Pakistan (6.4%), Nigeria (4.9%), the Democratic Republic of Congo (3.9%) and Bangladesh (3.7%) accounted for about aq of the global total.

The top five countries accounted for 55% of the total.

Globally, about 50% of people treated for TB and their households face total costs (direct health care costs, non-medical costs and indirect costs such as lost income) that are catastrophic (more than 20% of total household income).

People with compromised immune systems, such as people living with HIV, malnutrition or diabetes, or people who use tobacco, are at higher risk of the disease. An estimated 9.6 million new cases of TB are attributable to malnutrition, 9.2 million to diabetes, 7.3 million to alcohol-related disorders, 6.9 million to smoking, and 5.5 million to HIV infection.

The report showed that a total of 1.13 million people died from TB in 2025. Globally, TB is the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent worldwide. Last year, an estimated 10.6 million people worldwide contracted TB, including 5.7 million men, 3.7 million women and 1.2 million children.

Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis and a threat to health security. By 2025, only about two out of five people with drug-resistant tuberculosis would have been treated. Global efforts to combat tuberculosis have saved an estimated 86 million lives since 2000.

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria that most often affects the lungs. It is spread through the air when people with TB cough, sneeze or spit. TB is preventable and treatable.

Between December 7, 2024 and November 8, 2026, the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan has made significant progress, identifying and bringing more than 25 million individuals under screening activities.

“The reduction in TB mortality in India resulted from interventions under the National TB Elimination Program (NTEP) including proactive case finding including the use of AI X-rays, rapid diagnosis, rapid initiation of treatment, differentiated TB care and nutritional support through the Nikshay Poshan Yojana and Nikshay Mitra initiatives. These interventions were supported by AI acute case identification tools for high AI risk. adverse outcomes, Khushi – AI Chatbot & Avatar Videobot etc.,” the Union Health Ministry said in a statement.

Published – 12 Nov 2026 22:28 IST