Kathmandu, March 23
On the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day, the World Health Organisation has called for intensifying action to end TB in the South-East Asia Region, including Nepal, and globally, highlighting the urgent need for countries and partners to strengthen high-level leadership and investment.
According to a press statement issued by New Delhi-based WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia, the COVID-19 pandemic has reversed years of progress towards reaching milestones to end TB.
In 2021, the estimated burden of new and relapse TB cases globally was 10.6 million, an increase of half-a-million compared to 2020.
The mortality from TB and TB-HIV coinfection stood at 1.6 million, an increase of around 200,000 from pre-COVID-19 levels.
The WHO South-East Asia Region bears the world's highest TB burden.
Nepal is among 112 countries in this Region.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 24, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
