Global Tuberculosis Report 2022: WHO

• Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its 2022 version of the Global TB report. 
• It provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the TB epidemic, and of progress in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease, at global, regional, and country levels.

Significant Points from the 2022 Report

In 2021, an estimated 10.6 million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB), a 4.5% increase from 2020, and 1.6 million died from the disease (including 1,87,000 among HIV-positive people).

Country-specific evaluation

• According to the report, India, with 28% of cases, was one of the eight nations that accounted for more than two-thirds (or 68.3%) of all TB patients worldwide.
• China (7.4%), the Philippines (7%), Pakistan (5.8%), Nigeria (4.4%), Bangladesh (3.6%), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2.9%) were the other nations. Indonesia (9.2% cases) was next.
• The number of cases of rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) increased by 4, 50,000 between 2020 and 2021, adding another 3% to the burden of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB).
• For the first time in many years, an increase in the number of TB and drug-resistant TB cases has been documented.
• Numerous TB patients were not diagnosed and treated as a result of ongoing difficulties in providing and gaining access to essential TB services.
• Globally, underreporting is still a major concern.

Global Concerns

• For populations who are already at risk, ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe have made matters worse.
• India alone was responsible for 36% of all TB deaths among HIV-negative people worldwide, accounting for nearly 82% of all such deaths.

Global spending has decreased

• According to the report, global spending on vital TB services decreased from US$6 billion in 2019 to US$5.4 billion in 2021 or less than half of the global goal of US$13 billion annually by 2022.

The Efforts Made

• Global Efforts: Multisectoral Accountability Framework for TB by WHO, 1+1 initiative, and Global Tuberculosis Programme and Report.
• Under UN SDG target 3.3, the TB epidemic will be eradicated by 2030.
• The Moscow TB Declaration.

India's Initiatives:

• By 2025, the government hopes to have rid India of tuberculosis, five years before the global goal of 2030.
• The National Strategic Plan to End Tuberculosis (TB) by 2025 is based on the pillars of Detect-Treat-Prevent-Build (DTPB).
• Program for Universal Immunization.
• Under the National Health Mission, the National TB Control Program has been revised.
• The TB Sample Transport Network and the NIKSHAY portal.
• Creating a national framework for a TB treatment strategy that considers gender.

Suggestions:

• India was one of the three nations—along with Indonesia and the Philippines—that contributed the majority of the global reduction in 2020 (67 percent).
• They made some progress in 2021, but they were still responsible for 60% of the global decline from 2019 to 2021.
• Over 10 million people have received TB preventive treatment for people living with HIV in the four years, far exceeding the global target of 6 million.
• The report urges nations to take swift action to re-establish access to crucial TB services.
• In addition, it urges increased spending and multi-sectoral action to address the broader factors that contribute to TB epidemics and their socioeconomic effects, as well as the requirement for new diagnostics, medications, and vaccines.
• The WHO will hold a high-level summit in early 2023 to discuss the need to accelerate vaccine development.
• The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and WHO's End TB Strategy, which set 2030 as the target year for eradicating TB globally, were both adopted by all WHO member states and the UN.