As of 2018, India is home to the world’s largest number of patients suffering from TB. And at 2.74 million reported cases every year, India has the world’s highest share of all TB cases. China, the other Asian behemoth, lags far behind at only 1 million cases per year.
To counter this affliction, the National Strategic Plan (NSP) 2017-2025 was set up under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP). The stated aim was complete elimination of the disease by 2025.
However, since 2016, India’s TB incidence has dropped by a mere 1.7 percent annually. In contrast, even considerably poorer countries that have TB in significant numbers have seen sharper falls. For example, South Africa (4.6 percent), Eswatini (3.7 percent), Lesotho (3.5 percent), Namibia (4 percent), and Zimbabwe (4.1 percent), have been more successful in curbing TB cases. One of the reasons for India’s poor performance in curbing TB is the shifting of healthcare to private hands.
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To counter this affliction, the National Strategic Plan (NSP) 2017-2025 was set up under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP). The stated aim was complete elimination of the disease by 2025.
However, since 2016, India’s TB incidence has dropped by a mere 1.7 percent annually. In contrast, even considerably poorer countries that have TB in significant numbers have seen sharper falls. For example, South Africa (4.6 percent), Eswatini (3.7 percent), Lesotho (3.5 percent), Namibia (4 percent), and Zimbabwe (4.1 percent), have been more successful in curbing TB cases. One of the reasons for India’s poor performance in curbing TB is the shifting of healthcare to private hands.
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