Each year the World Tuberculosis Day is commemorated on March 24 to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of tuberculosis (TB) and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic. The date marks the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB, which opened the way towards diagnosing and curing this disease. Key Facts on TB TB remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious killers. TB is preventable and curable. A total of 1.23 million people died from tuberculosis (TB) in 2024 (including 150 000 among people with HIV). Globally, TB is the world’s leading cause of death from a single infectious agent and among the top 10 causes of death. TB was also both the leading killer of people with HIV in 2024 and a major cause of deaths related to antimicrobial resistance. In 2024, an estimated 10.7 million people fell ill with TB worldwide, including 5.8 million men, 3.7 million women and 1.2 million children. TB is present in all countries and age groups. Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis and a health security threat. Only about 2 in 5 people with drug-resistant TB accessed treatment in 2024. Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 83 million lives since the year 2000. Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is among the health targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Tuberculosis mostly affects adults in their most productive years. However, all age groups are at risk. Over 80% of cases and deaths are in low- and middle-income countries. Globally, about 50% of TB patients and their households face total costs (direct medical expenditures, non-medical expenditures and indirect costs such as income losses) that are catastrophic (>20% of total household income). Source : WHO Theme for 2026 The theme of World TB Day 2026 - ' Yes! We Can End TB' is a bold call to action and a message of hope, affirming that it is possible to get back on track and turn the tide on the TB epidemic, even in a challenging global environment. With decisive country leadership, increased domestic and international investment, rapid uptake of new WHO recommendations and innovations, accelerated action, and strong multisectoral collaboration, ending TB is not just aspirational - it is achievable. TB Free India Campaign TB is the leading infectious killer in India. The National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) conducted approximately 1.89 crore sputum smear tests and 68.3 lakh nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) in 2023. The incidence rate in India had fallen from 237 per lakh population in 2015 to 199 per lakh population in 2022 and mortality rate had declined from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 23 per lakh population in 2022. The year 2023 witnessed a significant increase in TB case notifications achieving a case notification rate of approximately 179 cases per lakh population, thereby narrowing down the coverage to 0.2 million. This milestone was complemented by a surge in private TB case notifications, reflecting enhanced case-finding efforts. Moreover,the programme diagnosed 63,939 cases of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), highlighting the programme’s commitment to addressing drug resistance. The government has launched the "TB Free India Campaign" to address the challenge of TB in mission mode to eliminate TB in India by 2025. To achieve 'End TB' targets, the Government has rolled out a "National Strategic Plan (NSP) to end TB by 2025". The NSP adopts a multi-pronged approach which aims to ‘Detect’ all TB patients with an emphasis on reaching TB patients seeking care from private providers and undiagnosed TB in high-risk populations, ‘Treat’ all patient irrespective of where they seek care adopting a patient centric approach, ‘Prevent’ emergence of TB in susceptible population groups and ‘Build’ empowered institutions and human resources to streamline implementation. Government support to eradicate TB The Indian government has a National TB programme since 1962; however, after reviewing its effectiveness, the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) was rolled out in phases from 1998. Through the RNTCP, the government provides high-quality free diagnosis, free drugs and free treatment throughout the country. In April 2018, the government initiated the Nikshay Poshan Yojana – a scheme for nutrition support to TB patients. The scheme provides a financial incentive of Rs. 500 to each notified TB patient through Direct Benefits Transfer for the duration for which the patient is on treatment. All TB patients notified and registered on the Nikshay portal on or after April 1, 2018 and existing TB patients on treatment are eligible to avail of this benefit. Eighteen States have committed to Ending TB by 2025 by formally implementing State specific Strategic Plans and have gone a step ahead to devise a District-specific Strategic Plan, which shall serve as a guiding tool for the programme managers and staff at the district and sub-district level towards the elimination of Tuberculosis. Mandatory notification of TB patients : The government issued a gazette notification making it mandatory for doctors, health practitioners and pharmacists to report cases of TB to National TB Programme. Non-compliance of this order could face a jail term of up to two years under sections 269 and 270 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Tribal TB Initiative Tribal peoples constitute 8.6% of the total population of India. Yet, they account for 10.4% of all notified TB cases in India. India’s aim to eliminate TB by 2025 cannot be fulfilled without a focused effort to fight TB among tribal communities. Recognising the need to consolidate effort investment towards eliminating TB among tribal communities, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs collectively launched the Tribal TB Initiative on 26th March 2021. Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan For effective engagement of the community in the path towards ending TB in India, MoHFW is implementing the “Community Support to TB patients - Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan. Source : Central TB Division Related resources Global tuberculosis report 2025 India TB Report 2024