WHO Steps Up Efforts to End Tuberculosis in South-East Asia Region
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an urgent call to member countries in its South-East Asia Region to accelerate and strengthen multi-sectoral efforts to end tuberculosis (TB). These efforts, guided by top political leadership, aim to ensure that every individual affected by or at risk of TB is reached, and the socio-economic determinants and impacts of the disease are effectively addressed.
Saima Wazed, Regional Director for the WHO South-East Asia Region, underscored the need for a comprehensive approach rooted in primary healthcare. She stated, “A primary health care-based approach that addresses TB determinants such as undernutrition, embraces new technologies including developments in the field of Artificial Intelligence, and has communities and affected populations at the centre of all efforts, should be among the key elements of our reinvigorated approach.”
According to the Global TB Report 2024, published by WHO, the region witnessed a record-breaking number of TB treatments initiated in 2023, with over 3.8 million people starting treatment. This represents an increase of nearly 1.3 million compared to 2020, a year severely impacted by the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the percentage of undiagnosed TB cases, or those missed by national programs, significantly declined to 22 per cent in 2023, down from 44 per cent in 2020.
The report also highlighted a sharp decline in TB-related mortality rates. The estimated number of deaths due to TB fell to 583,000 in 2023, compared to a peak of 763,000 in 2021. Despite these positive trends, the region continues to carry a disproportionate share of the global TB burden, accounting for 45 per cent of all TB cases worldwide. Over 5 million individuals developed TB in the region in 2023, and the region accounted for more than half of global TB deaths that year.
Preventive treatment has been a crucial component of TB control efforts. Nearly 1.5 million people in the region received TB preventive treatment in 2023, protecting high-risk populations from developing the disease. However, the report identified gaps in coverage, with only 9 per cent of people living with HIV and less than a quarter of household contacts of bacteriologically confirmed TB patients receiving preventive treatment.
Financial constraints remain a significant barrier to TB eradication. In 2023, funding for TB control in the region reached USD 1.1 billion, an increase of 70 per cent from domestic sources. However, this amount falls short of the USD 3 billion required annually to implement a comprehensive TB strategy.
Wazed highlighted the need for countries to focus on multi-sectoral collaboration and pooling resources to leave no one behind. She emphasised that reaching vulnerable and marginalised populations, often the most affected, is key to defeating TB.
“It is time to push the pedal on the momentum built collectively by the Member countries of the region in efforts towards ending TB,” Wazed asserted.
Recent commitments, such as the Gandhinagar Declaration and the historic declaration adopted at the United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB on September 22, 2023, have set ambitious and time-bound targets. These include enhancing equitable access to TB services, protecting human rights, addressing TB determinants, and fostering innovation through research while mobilising sufficient resources to support these initiatives.