World TB Day (March 24) marks the day in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch announced his discovery of the TB-causing bacterium, setting the path to diagnose and cure the disease. Despite good progress, TB is the top infectious killer worldwide, claiming over 4,500 lives a day. The emergence of multidrug-resistant TB poses a health security threat and could risk gains made in the fight against TB, says the WHO. This year’s theme is ‘Wanted: Leaders for a TB-free world’ and focusses on building commitment to end TB at the political level and across civil society, frontline workers and those with TB. This is a run-up to the UN General Assembly high-level meeting on TB this year. This week, India committed to ending TB by 2025, and pledged ₹12,000 crore over three years.
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