Tuberculosis is curable and preventable. However, each year, millions of people worldwide get infected. In 2019, 1.4 million individuals, including 208,000 with HIV, died from the disease.
As COVID-19 cases rose, there was a decline in the diagnosis and treatment of TB: in 2020, a staggering 1 million people undiagnosed and untreated from 23 high-risk countries. In India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, which account for 44% of global TB cases, detection fell by 25% to 30%. The World Health Organization also estimated that 1.8 million could die from TB in 2020, as lockdowns caused a dip in detection.
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 3.3 is to end epidemics such as TB by 2030, and WHO aims for an 80% reduction in the TB incidence rate by the same year. But the pandemic poses a threat to the decade-long efforts of eradicating TB.