NEW DELHI: India will be able to eliminate tuberculosis by the end of this year, five years ahead of the global target, Union Health Minister JP Nadda said Friday.He said India, which tops the list of 30 countries with high-burden TB cases, has witnessed a noteworthy 17.7% decline in tuberculosis incidence from 2015 to 2023, a rate that is over twice the global average decline of 8.3%.Citing the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global TB Report 2024, which had said that India’s TB incidence reduced from 237 per 1,00,000 population in 2015 to 195 in 2023, while TB mortality rate decreased from 28 to 22 in the same period, the health minister said despite the COVID-19 setback, India has not diluted its TB eradication target.“As per the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), India has to eliminate TB by 2030. But, we are all set to achieve it by 2025,” Nadda said, while inaugurating the ninth National Summit on Good and Replicable Practices and Innovation in Public Healthcare System in Puri, Odisha.Nadda highlighted the ongoing 100-Day TB elimination campaign, spanning 455 districts across 33 states.The campaign, which was launched on December 7, 2024, has so far detected 5 lakh TB patients already, the minister said, adding that an extensive campaign is going on.“We are going to include all aspirational districts and aspirational blocks under the campaign so that we will be able to eliminate TB by the end of 2025,” he further added.On the threat from non-communicable diseases, Nadda emphasised on the need for bringing lifestyle changes.
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