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Context
- Recently, the Global TB report was released by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Major Highlights of the report
- Data analysis:
- WHO estimates that some 4.1 million people currently suffer from TB but have not been diagnosed with the disease or have not officially reported to national authorities. This figure is up from 2.9 million in 2019.
- Contribution of countries:
- The countries that contributed most to the global reduction in TB notifications between 2019 and 2020 were
- India (41%)
- Indonesia (14%)
- the Philippines (12%)
- China (8%).
- 12 other countries accounted for 93% of the total global drop in notifications.
- The countries that contributed most to the global reduction in TB notifications between 2019 and 2020 were
- Impact of Pandemic:
- The COVID-19 pandemic has reversed years of global progress in reducing the number of people who die from TB, with the first year-on-year increase (of 5.6 per cent) since 2005 and the total number of deaths in 2020 returning to the level of 2017.
- The biggest impact was felt in terms of the detection of new cases. This means a large number of cases went undetected due to highly curtailed access to diagnostics and restrictions imposed to contain the pandemic.
- From 2016-2019, the number of new cases rose continuously but fell dramatically to 20 per cent in 2020.
- Preventive treatment:
- There was also a reduction in the provision of TB preventive treatment.
- Some 2.8 million people accessed this in 2020, a 21% reduction since 2019.
- In 2020, more people died from TB, with far fewer people being diagnosed and treated or provided with TB preventive treatment compared with 2019, and overall spending on essential TB services falling.
- The increase in the number of TB deaths occurred mainly in the 30 countries with the highest burden of TB.
- There was also a reduction in the provision of TB preventive treatment.
- Challenges :
- The first challenge was a disruption in access to TB services and a reduction in resources.
- In many countries, human, financial and other resources had been reallocated from tackling TB to the COVID-19 response, limiting the availability of essential services.
- Many people with TB were not diagnosed in 2020.
- The number of people newly diagnosed with TB and those reported to national governments fell from 7.1 million in 2019 to 5.8 million in 2020.
- Global investment for TB fell and the funding in the low- and middle-income countries that account for 98% of reported TB cases remained a challenge.
- less willingness and ability to seek care in the context of lockdowns and associated restrictions on movement.
- The stigma is associated with similarities in the symptoms related to TB and COVID-19.
- Suggestions :
- The recent data must serve as a global wake-up call to the urgent need for investments and innovation to close the gaps in diagnosis, treatment and care for the millions of people affected by this ancient but preventable and treatable disease.
- To improve the diagnosis, countries need to increase the proportion of cases that are confirmed bacteriologically either through bacteria culture or rapid tests. The share of rapid tests especially needs to go up as only 33 percent of total cases were diagnosed through it.
Tuberculosis
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Source: TH
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