Pakistan remains fifth among top high-burden TB countries


KARACHI: Pakistan's struggle with tuberculosis continues, ranking fifth among countries with the highest burden of the disease globally, according to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Global Tuberculosis Report 2024 released on October 29. The country reported an estimated 686,000 TB cases and 48,577 deaths in 2023, accounting for 6.3% of the global TB burden.

Pakistan joins India (26%), Indonesia (10%), China (6.8%), and the Philippines (6.8%) in shouldering 56% of the global TB burden. In 2022, India accounted for 27% of the disease load, followed by Indonesia (10%), China (7.1%), the Philippines (7%), Pakistan (5.7%), Nigeria (4.5%), Bangladesh (3.6%), and Democratic Republic of Congo (3%).

Rising TB deaths and notifications

Pakistan's TB deaths in 2023 included those among people living with HIV who also suffered from TB. The number of newly diagnosed or relapsed cases notified with TB rose to 475,761, up from 424,566 in 2022 and 339,256 in 2021.

Globally, TB remains the leading infectious disease, affecting people of all ages and sexes. Adult men bear the highest burden, with an estimated 6.0 million cases (55% of the total), followed by adult women (3.6 million, 33%) and children (1.25 million, 12%).

The WHO report highlights regional disparities in TB incidence, with South-East Asia (45%), Africa (24%), and the Western Pacific (17%) accounting for the majority of cases. The Eastern Mediterranean, Americas, and Europe regions reported smaller proportions.

Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO's Global Tuberculosis Programme, emphasised the need for collective action to address the challenges posed by TB, including funding shortfalls, climate change, conflict, migration, and drug-resistant tuberculosis.

--IV Desk

With an uninterrupted 23-year career in daily journalism (1991-2013), the author/editor of this blog currently serves as Editor of Social Track, a weekly newspaper focused on social sectors, based in Karachi. Holding a master's degree in Mass Communications from the University of Karachi (1990), his professional experience includes roles as senior reporter at Daily Dawn, Karachi (May 2001-August 2013) and Chief Reporter at The News International, Karachi (April 1991-May 2001). He has a strong background in development journalism, he has an extensive portfolio of news stories, analytical reports and features covering a wide range of sectors. He has had the privilege of covering numerous high-profile figures, including Pakistani presidents, prime ministers, army chiefs, foreign dignitaries, and VVIPs and attending conferences and workshops abroad. He began his journalism career in the early 1980s. Throughout his career, he has received several national awards from government and private organisations. He has contributed to various radio and TV/channel broadcasts and has also served as a trainer at workshops in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, focused on training journalists.

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