Rohit Shishodia
A World Health Organization report on TB has revealed that 3 million people, who were affected with TB, were missed out for treatment across the globe in 2018. The report revealed that about 10 lakh new TB cases were detected in 2018.

The UN agency pointed out that severe underfunding and lack of access to care jeopardize at-risk populations. Due to this such huge number of people with TB were missed out for treatment.

The report showed that 7 million people with TB were taking life saving medicines for the deadly infectious disease.

The report highlighted that worldwide 7 million people were diagnosed and treated for TB - up from 6.4 million in 2017. The report found that year 2018 also saw a reduction in the number of TB deaths: 1.5 million people died from TB in 2018, down from 1.6 million in 2017. However, the burden remains high among low-income and marginalized populations.  

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General,  WHO, said, “Today we mark the passing of the first milestone in the effort to reach people who’ve been missing out on services to prevent and treat TB.”

“This is proof that we can reach global targets if we join forces together, as we have done through the Find.Treat.All.EndTB joint initiative of WHO, Stop TB Partnership and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria,” added Dr Tedros.