India Achieves 38% Drop in TB Mortality Over Decade, WHO Report Shows
The WHO’s 2026 Global Tuberculosis Report says India cut TB deaths by 38% between 2015 and 2025 and reached a 94% treatment success rate, though it still accounts for about a quarter of global TB fatalities.
India has lowered its tuberculosis mortality rate by 38% over the past decade, falling from 28 deaths per lakh population in 2015 to 18 per lakh in 2025, according to the World Health Organization’s Global Tuberculosis Report 2026 released on November 12. The decline exceeds the global reduction of 35% for the same period and places India among four high-burden countries that met the WHO’s 35% mortality-reduction milestone, alongside Bangladesh, China and Vietnam.
"The improvement reflects expanded screening, rapid diagnostic testing, timely treatment and nutritional assistance under the National TB Elimination Programme," the Union Health Ministry said.
The report also notes a 94% treatment success rate for patients with drug-susceptible TB. Under the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, more than 25 crore people have been screened, resulting in over 48.64 lakh cases detected, including 14.97 lakh asymptomatic infections. The campaign employed AI-enabled chest X-ray screening, digital tools, the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana for nutritional support and the Ni-kshay Mitra initiative for community assistance.
Despite these gains, India still accounted for roughly 23% of global TB deaths in 2025, the largest share worldwide. WHO did not release a new incidence estimate for India, citing ongoing technical review of the latest national prevalence survey. Globally, 10.6 million people fell ill with TB in 2025 and 1.13 million died, indicating that overall progress remains below the End TB Strategy targets.
The WHO report underscores that while India’s mortality reduction is a notable achievement, sustained investment in early detection, treatment completion and broader public-health measures will be essential to further curb the disease.