In 2018, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) from the country by the end of 2025, five years ahead of the global target set by the World Health Organisation. As this deadline looms closer, however, TB remains one of the country's most dire public health crises. According to the WHO, India is home to 27 percent of the world's TB cases, and records two TB-related deaths every three minutes. In 2023, the country was estimated to have around 323,200 deaths from tuberculosis, which represents a death rate of around 22 for 100,000 people. Poor case detection, underfunding, health care system gaps and socioeconomic barriers have long stalled the country's efforts to fight the desease, but as our infographic shows, progress has nonetheless been made.
According to data from the most recent WHO Global Tuberculosis report, the number of new cases of TB for 100,000 inhabitants in India has gone from 322 in 2000 to 195 in 2023. Despite this positive evolution, India remains one of the countries in Asia with the highest incidence of the disease. Laos, which saw 330 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2000, saw a steady decline of new cases every year since, recording 132 for 100,000 people in 2023. While Indonesia had seen progress in dealing with TB for two decades, the number of cases in the country bounced back in 2021.
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by a bacteria which mostly affects the lungs, though it can also affect other parts of the body. It can spread easily where people live in crowded conditions, and is more likely to be caught by people with weakened immune systems, for instance those with HIV or AIDS. An estimated 1.25 million people died of TB in 2023, making it the ninth or tenth leading cause of death worldwide. As the WHO underlines, tuberculosis is curable and preventable.
