Tuberculosis deaths in India fall 38% since 2015, outpacing global decline: WHO report | Today’s news
New Delhi: India has seen a 38% reduction in tuberculosis (TB) deaths since 2015, overtook the global decline of 35%, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday. The findings, which were highlighted in the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Tuberculosis Report 2026, published on Thursday, also showed that the country achieved a 94% treatment success rate among drug-susceptible TB patients.
According to a WHO report, the estimated TB death rate in India has fallen from 280 per million people in 2015 to 180 per million in 2025. Meanwhile, a nationally representative TB prevalence survey conducted in 2025 by the Indian Council of Medical Research – National Institute of Tuberculosis Research (ICMR-NIRT) has been shared with WHO. The findings are currently under technical review, after which WHO will publish an updated country profile for India.
The The Ministry of Health added that 96% of India’s TB program funding requirements are now being met from domestic sources. The ministry also highlighted how the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan has transformed detection through technological innovation. Between December 2024 and November 2026, more than 250 million people were screened for TB. Authorities performed more than 11 million chest X-rays — using AI-powered portable diagnostic tools — along with more than 30 million rapid molecular nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs). This identified 4.86 million new TB cases, including 1.49 million asymptomatic patients.
The first intensified 100-day campaign under the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan was launched on 7 December 2024 in 347 high priority areas in 33 states and Union Territories before being extended nationwide. A second more intensive 100-day campaign was launched on 24 March 2026, targeting screening in 158,000 high-risk villages and wards, ward facilities and vulnerable populations. Following these efforts, 67,933 Panchayats were declared TB-free in 2025.
Technique and nutrition
Under the National TB Elimination Program (NTEP), interventions include proactive case finding, rapid diagnosis, rapid initiation of treatment, differentiated TB care and preventive TB treatment. The program also uses AI tools to identify hotspots and predict high-risk TB cases prone to adverse outcomes, along with the Khushi AI chatbot and avatar videobot. Patient monitoring, treatment monitoring and program management are supported through the Ni-kshay digital platform. TB screening has also been integrated with the identification and treatment of diabetes, malnutrition and other comorbidities.
Nutritional support is provided through the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana, which provides financial assistance to eligible patients to meet nutritional requirements during treatment, and the Ni-kshay Mitra initiative, where individuals, institutions and organizations provide nutritional and psychosocial support.
The ministry said public participation was managed through Panchayati Raj institutions, urban local bodies, elected representatives, civil society organizations, private healthcare providers, community leaders and corporate partners. In addition, Joint Health Teams (Josh) are being set up at block and ward level to engage youth in community outreach and awareness raising.
To estimate TB mortality, the WHO report incorporated evidence from the Registrar General of India’s Specimen Registration System, community-based assessments of verbal autopsies and program data from the Ni-kshay portal.
