According to the World Health Organization, between 2019 and 2021, there may have been a rise in tuberculosis deaths worldwide, reversing years of decline as the COVID-19 pandemic significantly hampered attempts to combat the illness.
The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed global efforts to combat fatal diseases like AIDS, TB, and malaria. The global health crisis has specifically impacted TB responses, causing nations to miss deadlines for eradicating the infectious disease.
WHO advised people to use the pandemic’s lessons to combat tuberculosis, which has a serious impact on nations like India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Pakistan.
According to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, “if the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that with unity, commitment, creativity, and the appropriate use of instruments, we can overcome major health risks.”
According to the WHO’s annual TB report, 1.6 million people died from tuberculosis in 2021, more than the anticipated 1.5 million fatalities in 2020 and 1.4 million deaths in 2019. Between 2005 and 2019, fewer people died from TB.
The paper also issues a warning that TB may soon overtake COVID-19 as the most common infectious cause of mortality worldwide.
According to a new report by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, despite a rise in the number of individuals treated and prevented from contracting these deadly diseases last year, the world is still far from eradicating them.
According to a WHO report, 10.6 million individuals were infected with tuberculosis in 2021, a 4.5% increase from 2020.
The WHO established a target to reduce TB fatalities by 35% from 2015 to 2020 as part of its “End TB Strategy,” while the actual reduction was 5.9% between 2015 and 2021.