Global Tuberculosis Report 2022

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    In News

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

    About Tuberculosis

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    • TB is the second deadliest infectious killer after Covid-19 which is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs. 
    • It can spread when people who are sick with TB expel bacteria into the air for example, by coughing. 
    • Most people who develop the disease are adults.
      • In 2021, men accounted for 56.5% of the TB burden, adult women (32.5%) and children (11%). 
      • Many new cases of TB are attributable to five risk factors: 
        • Undernutrition
        • HIV infection
        • Alcohol use disorders
        • Smoking
        • Diabetes. 
    • TB is preventable and curable and around 85% of people who develop the disease can be successfully treated with a 4/6-month drug regimen. 
      • Treatment has also the added benefit of curtailing onward transmission of infection. While TB is detected in every part of the world, 30 countries carry the highest burden. 

     

    Major Highlights of the 2022 report

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    • Increase in cases
      • An estimated 10.6 million people fell ill with tuberculosis (TB) in 2021, an increase of 4.5% from 2020 and 1.6 million people died from TB (including 1,87,000 among HIV positive people).
    • Country wise assessment
      • With 28% cases, India was among the eight countries accounting for more than two-third (or 68.3%) of the total TB patients’ count, said the report, released on Thursday.
      • The other countries were Indonesia (9.2% cases), China (7.4%), the Philippines (7%), Pakistan (5.8%), Nigeria (4.4%), Bangladesh (3.6%) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2.9%).
    • The burden of drug-resistant TB (DR-TB)
      • It also increased by 3% between 2020 and 2021, with 4, 50,000 new cases of rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) in 2021.
      • This is the first time in many years that an increase has been reported in the number of people falling ill with TB and drug resistant TB.
    • Lack of Diagnosis
      • Continued challenges with providing and accessing essential TB services have meant that many people with TB were not diagnosed and treated.
      • Underreporting is still a big concern globally. 
    • Global Issues
      • Ongoing conflicts across Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East have further exacerbated the situation for vulnerable populations.
      • Nearly 82% of global TB deaths among HIV-negative people occurred in the African and South-East Asia regions, with India alone accounting for 36% of such deaths.
    • Decline in global spending
      • The report notes a decline in global spending on essential TB services from US$6 billion in 2019 to US$5.4 billion in 2021, which is less than half of the global target of US$13 billion annually by 2022. 

    Efforts Taken

    • Global Efforts:
      • Global Tuberculosis Programme and Report, 1+1 initiative & Multisectoral Accountability Framework for TB by WHO.
      • Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 under UN SDG target 3.3.
      • Moscow Declaration to End TB.
    • Indian Efforts:
      • The government aims to have a TB-free India by 2025, five years ahead of the global target of 2030.
      • National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme: National Strategic Plan to end TB by 2025 under pillars of Detect-Treat-Prevent-Build (DTPB).
      • Universal Immunisation Programme.
      • Revised National TB Control Programme under the National Health Mission.
      • NIKSHAY portal and TB Sample Transport Network.
      • Development of National Framework for Gender-Responsive approach to TB.

    Way forward/ Suggestions 

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    • India was among the three countries, others being Indonesia and the Philippines that accounted for most of the reduction in 2020 (67% of the global total).  
      • They made partial recoveries in 2021, but still accounted for 60% of the global reduction compared with 2019.
    • TB preventive treatment for people living with HIV has far surpassed the global target of 6 million during 2018-2022, reaching over 10 million in the four years.
    • The report calls for countries to put in place urgent measures to restore access to essential TB services.
      • It further calls for increased investments, multi-sectoral action to address the broader determinants that influence TB epidemics and their socioeconomic impact as well as the need for new diagnostics, drugs and vaccines. 
    • There is a need to intensify vaccine development for which the WHO will convene a high-level summit in early 2023. 
    • All WHO member states and the UN adopted the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and WHO’s End TB Strategy which has put 2030 as the deadline to end TB globally. 

    Source: HT

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