The health minister said that he would be able to confirm on meeting the TB target by the first week of April, when the 100-day nationwide intensified TB campaign will be completed. The campaign was launched on December 7, 2024 in 347 districts of 33 states, where TB prevalence is higher. So far, 1.26 lakh new TB patients have been identified under the campaign, which is focused on enhancing detection, reducing diagnostic delays and improving treatment outcomes. “Our target is not diluted,” he stressed.Nadda said TB incidence reduced from 237 per 1 lakh population in 2015 to 195 in 2023, while TB mortality rate decreased from 28 to 22 in the same period.He said missing TB cases reduced significantly from 15 lakh in 2015 to 1.5 lakh in 2024. “We have moved from ‘high burden’ to ‘high impact’ country as per the WHO’s Global Tuberculosis Report 2023 report,” he said.On the long-awaited TB vaccine, Rajiv Bahl, secretary to the Department of Health Research, said trial results of one vaccine was not good, while the second vaccine trial will take another year to complete. He also said that two other anti-TB vaccines are under different stages of testing and consideration. When asked whether the health budget will see a hike in the Union Budget, Nadda said that it has been going up. “For our government, health is a priority area. So, the health budget will continuously go up.”
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