WHO urges South-East Asia region to strengthen multi-sectoral efforts to end TB, ET HealthWorld
New Delhi: The World Health Organization has urged countries in the South-East Asia Region to intensify their efforts to eliminate tuberculosis (TB). This includes adopting multi-sectoral approaches supported by political leadership to ensure access to treatment for all affected and at-risk individuals and addressing the social and economic factors linked to the disease.
“A primary healthcare-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,” said Saima Wazed, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region.
According to the Global TB Report 2024 published by the WHO, more than 3.8 million people were initiated on TB treatment in the WHO South-East Asia Region in 2023, the highest ever and nearly 1.3 million more than in the year 2020 impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The estimated percentage of people with TB, missed by the programme, declined to 22 per cent from 44 per cent in 2020.
As per the report, the estimated number of deaths due to TB declined to 583,000 in 2023, after a peak of 763,000 in 2021. However, the Region continues to account for a disproportionate 45 per cent of the global TB burden with an estimated over 5 million people developing the disease in 2023, and over half of TB deaths globally in 2023. Nearly 1.5 million people received TB preventive treatment which helps protect high-risk populations from developing the disease.
However, the coverage remained low with only 9 per cent of people living with HIV and less than a quarter for household contacts of bacteriologically confirmed TB patients, receiving preventive treatment. The available funding for TB in the Region reached US$ 1.1 billion in 2023, increasing steadily by 70 percent through domestic sources, but a huge gap of nearly US$ 2 billion per year persists for the implementation of a comprehensive strategy to end TB in the Region.
The South-East Asia Region must strengthen multi-sectoral collaboration to combat tuberculosis (TB), ensuring support reaches every affected person, including vulnerable and marginalized communities, emphasized Regional Director Saima Wazed. “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 said.
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