India has seen reduction in TB incidence: Mandaviya

India is striving to eliminate Tuberculosis from the country by 2025, five years ahead of the global Sustainable Development Goal. This was stated by Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya while addressing the Quad Plus Side Event on Tuberculosis during the 76th World Health Assembly in Geneva on Thursday. He said that India is the only country in the world to have developed its own mechanism for estimating its TB burden. He added that the country has witnessed a 13 percent reduction in TB incidents from 2015 to 2022, surpassing the global reduction rate of 10 percent. 
The Minister also said that TB mortality in India has decreased by 15 percent during the same period, compared to the global reduction rate of 5.9 percent. He said that by employing a mathematical model based on local evidence, the country can now determine the true burden of the disease well ahead of the annual World Health Organization report. Recognizing the importance of early diagnosis, treatment, and preventive measures, Dr. Mandaviya said, India has taken diagnostics and treatment to the patients at the last mile to identify all missing cases and reach the unreached. 
He said the country has established over 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centres which provide TB diagnostics and care to all patients, along with a host of other primary healthcare services to ensure Universal Health Coverage to each and every patient. Dr. Mandaviya also highlighted India's successful collaboration with the private sector, enabling quality care for TB patients through their preferred centers, clinics, and doctors. As a result, notifications from the private sector have increased more than seven fold over the past nine years.