24 March: World Tuberculosis Day

The World Tuberculosis (TB) Day was observed across the globe on March 24, 2019 with a goal to raise public awareness about the upsetting health and economic consequences of tuberculosis and to step up efforts to remove the global TB epidemic.

On the Day, President Ram Nath Kovind urged all stakeholders to come together to achieve a TB free India. He appealed to the people dedicate themselves towards achieving the goal.

India renewed its commitments and intentions to end TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global targets.

According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), India achieved 84 percent decrease in tuberculosis deaths among people living with HIV by 2017.

It is the highest reported decline among over 20 nations and the achievement is also three years ahead of the 2020 target of reducing TB deaths among people living with HIV by 75 percent, as outlined in the 2016 United Nations Political Declaration on Ending AIDS.

According to the World Health Organisation estimates, globally, TB deaths among people living with HIV fell by 42 percent since 2010.

Tuberculosis: A Global Epidemic

Despite important steps taken to end the epidemic, Tuberculosis remains the world’s deadliest infectious killer as around 4500 people die every day due to TB and around 30000 people fall ill with this curable disease.

Majorly, the disease thrives among people living in poverty, communities and groups that are marginalized such as migrants, refugees, ethnic minorities, the elderly, marginalised women and children.

In 2017, WHO recorded that 10.4 million people fell ill with TB and there were 1.8 million TB deaths in 2016.

The Global concentrated efforts undertaken to fight TB have been successful in saving around 54 million lives since 2000 and reduced the TB mortality rate by 42 percent.

In September 2018, the global leaders came together and made commitments to end TB at the first-ever UN High Level Meeting.