World TB Day 2023 | Know theme

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World TB Day 2023 | Know theme: Despite efforts to control it, TB continues to be one of the most lethal infectious diseases in the world, resulting in the deaths of nearly 4,400 people and the sickness of approximately 30,000 individuals each day. Since the year 2000, global initiatives to combat TB have saved an estimated 74 million lives. Nonetheless, the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing conflicts across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, and social disparities have negated years of progress in the fight against TB, exacerbating the plight of the most vulnerable. In its latest report on TB, the WHO noted that for the first time in more than ten years, estimated TB incidence and fatalities have risen.

Key Facts of World TB Day 2023 | Know theme

• A total of 1.6 million people died from TB in 2021 (including 187 000 people with HIV). Worldwide, TB is the 13th leading cause of death and the second leading infectious killer after COVID-19 (above HIV/AIDS).
• In 2021, an estimated 10.6 million people fell ill with tuberculosis(TB) worldwide. Six million men, 3.4 million women and 1.2 million children. TB is present in all countries and age groups. But TB is curable and preventable.
• In 2021, 1.2 million children fell ill with TB globally. Child and adolescent TB is often overlooked by health providers and can be difficult to diagnose and treat.
• In 2021, the 30 high TB burden countries accounted for 87% of new TB cases
• Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis and a health security threat. Only about one in three people with drug resistant TB accessed treatment in 2020.
• Globally, TB incidence is falling at about 2% per year and between 2015 and 2020 the cumulative reduction was 11%. This was over half way to the End TB Strategy milestone of 20% reduction between 2015 and 2020.
• An estimated 66 million lives were saved through TB diagnosis and treatment between 2000 and 2020.
• Globally, close to one in two TB-affected households face costs higher than 20% of their household income, according to latest national TB patient cost survey data. The world did not reach the milestone of 0% TB patients and their households facing catastrophic costs as a result of TB disease by 2020.
• By 2022, US$ 13 billion is needed annually for TB prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care to achieve the global target agreed at the UN high level-meeting on TB in 2018.
• Funding in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) that account for 98% of reported TB cases falls far short of what is needed. Spending in 2020 amounted to US$ 5.3 billion less than half (41%) of the global target.
• There was an 8.7% decline in spending between 2019 and 2020 (from US$ 5.8 billion to US$ 5.3 billion), with TB funding in 2020 back to the level of 2016.
• Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is among the health targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Theme for World TB Day 2023 | Know theme

The theme for World TB Day 2023, “Yes! We can end TB!”, is intended to inspire optimism and prompt prominent leaders to take action, increase investments, adopt new WHO recommendations, implement innovations, collaborate across sectors, and expedite efforts to combat the TB epidemic. This year is particularly significant as the 2023 UN High-Level Meeting on TB presents an opportunity to raise awareness and gain political commitment. The focus of World TB Day is on encouraging countries to accelerate their progress leading up to the UN meeting. In addition, WHO and its partners will issue a call to action, urging Member States to expedite the deployment of the new WHO-recommended shorter all-oral treatment regimens for drug-resistant TB. World TB Day is commemorated annually on March 24 to raise awareness about TB and efforts to end the global epidemic, marking the date when the bacterium responsible for TB was first discovered in 1882.