According to the World Health Organisation Global Tuberculosis Report 2026, India has achieved a 38 per cent decline in tuberculosis deaths since 2015, driven by interventions under the National TB Elimination Programme such as AI-enabled diagnostics and nutritional support. However, significant challenges remain due to socio-economic factors like undernutrition, diabetes, and a high burden of new cases, meaning India still falls short of its ambitious elimination targets and requires continued healthcare improvements.

According to the World Health Organisation Global Tuberculosis Report 2026, India has achieved a 38 per cent decline in tuberculosis deaths since 2015, driven by interventions under the National TB Elimination Programme such as AI-enabled diagnostics and nutritional support. However, significant challenges remain due to socio-economic factors like undernutrition, diabetes, and a high burden of new cases, meaning India still falls short of its ambitious elimination targets and requires continued healthcare improvements.

According to the World Health Organisation Global Tuberculosis Report 2026, India has achieved a 38 per cent decline in tuberculosis deaths since 2015, driven by interventions under the National TB Elimination Programme such as AI-enabled diagnostics and nutritional support. However, significant challenges remain due to socio-economic factors like undernutrition, diabetes, and a high burden of new cases, meaning India still falls short of its ambitious elimination targets and requires continued healthcare improvements.

India has recorded a 38 per cent decline in tuberculosis (TB) deaths since 2015, higher than the global reduction of 35 per cent, according to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Tuberculosis Report 2026.

“India’s reduction in TB mortality has been the result of interventions under the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP),” the Union Health Ministry said in a statement. The interventions include the “use of AI-enabled X-rays, rapid diagnostics, prompt treatment initiation, differentiated TB care, and nutritional support through the Nikshay Poshan Yojana and Nikshay Mitra initiative.”

While the decline in the number of TB-related deaths marks significant progress, the number of people continuing to fall ill and die from it remains a challenge.

For instance, the WHO report underscored that around 88 per cent of new TB cases worldwide occurred in 30 countries last year. And India accounted for a quarter of the total.

The report didn’t carry the estimates of TB incidence in India, but 263,000 deaths were reported in 2025.

While the 38 per cent mortality reduction is significant, it still falls considerably short of the 75 per cent by 2025 target set under the UN SDGs and WHO’s End TB Framework. India set itself the target of eliminating TB by 2025. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the same at the End TB Summit in New Delhi in March 2018.

Why India remains a hotspot

The challenge is not just detecting and treating the infection. TB is closely linked to socio-economic conditions, nutrition and underlying health vulnerabilities, as underscored by the WHO report.

It estimates that 9.6 lakh new TB cases globally in 2025 were attributable to under-nutrition, 9.2 lakh to diabetes, 7.3 lakh to alcohol use disorders, 6.9 lakh to smoking and 5.5 lakh to HIV infection. This makes controlling the disease a complex public health exercise.

Under-nutrition is especially significant in the Indian context, where poverty, food insecurity and limited access to healthcare can compound the situation. India also has a high diabetes burden, with close to nine crore people living with it. Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) presents another formidable challenge.

The economic consequences of treating the disease are equally serious. Globally, around half of the people receiving TB treatment and their households face catastrophic costs, defined by the WHO as expenses exceeding 20 per cent of total household income.

While the 38 per cent reduction is significant, eliminating TB by 2030, the target set under the UN SDGs and WHO’s End TB Framework, will require that fewer people contract the infection, and if they do, there’s early screening, and that there’s accessible healthcare that doesn’t push people into poverty.

TB is a curable, infectious disease caused by bacteria. It primarily attacks the lungs and spreads through coughing, sneezing, and spitting.

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