United Nations aims for a TB-free world by 2030

Countries worldwide have unanimously agreed to a comprehensive plan aimed at eradicating Tuberculosis (TB) by 2030. During a high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations General Assembly reached the historic agreement.

The plan outlined an ambitious set of goals for the next five years, with the primary objective being the acceleration of efforts to eliminate TB on a global scale.

TB plan: Wider care, new vaccine

Key highlights of the plan include expanding TB prevention and care services to reach 90 percent of the global population. Additionally, the blueprint emphasizes providing economic and social support to TB patients to facilitate their recovery. Another crucial aspect is the approval of at least one new TB vaccine. Notably, approximately a century ago, researchers developed only one vaccine for the fight against TB. The plan also targets the implementation of rapid TB testing for early detection and aims to bridge the funding gap for TB research and prevention efforts by 2027.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the second deadliest infectious disease after Covid-19 is recognized as TB, a highly infectious and potentially fatal disease. It ranks as the 13th leading cause of death worldwide. In 2021, TB claimed the lives of 1.6 million individuals, with 187,000 of them suffering from HIV.

In 2021, TB affected an estimated 10.6 million people worldwide, including around 6 million men, 3.4 million women, and 1.2 million children. These statistics underscore the disease's ability to affect individuals of all age groups. Fortunately, both the treatment and prevention of TB are feasible, but the challenge of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a pressing public health concern.

Disturbingly, only one-third of MDR-TB patients received treatment in 2021. While TB prevention initiatives have saved 74 million lives between 2000 and 2021, these efforts are insufficient to meet the 2030 targets, necessitating new agreements reached during the United Nations General Assembly's high-level meeting.

TB spreading in India, concerns rise

In India, TB is spreading from animals to humans more than expected. For the past several centuries, humanity has faced TB, formerly known as the White Plague or by other names. A bacteria mainly causes it, affecting the lungs, although antibiotics can treat it. However, the efforts being made in this direction had slowed down due to Corona.

In 2015, India alone reported 28 lakh cases of this disease, out of which about 4.8 lakh people died. However, in 2019, the country reported 21.6 lakh cases of TB, which decreased to 16.2 lakh in 2020.

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