WHO Global TB Report 2026: India cuts TB deaths 38% but has about a quarter of all cases

Tuberculosis killed 18 of every lakh people in India in 2025, down from 28 per lakh in 2015, the WHO Global TB Report 2026 shows. Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda said on Friday, 13 November, that the report records a 38% fall in India’s TB mortality since 2015, ahead of the 35% drop recorded worldwide.

The World Health Organization released the report on Thursday, 12 November. Its figures also show how much of the problem still sits in India. The country had about a quarter of the world’s TB cases in 2025 and 23% of all TB deaths, more than any other nation. Indonesia was second on both lists.

Across the world, an estimated 1.06 crore people contracted TB in 2025 and 11 lakh died. Thirty countries carried 88% of those cases. The global rate of new cases has dropped only 14% since 2015, well short of the 50% cut the WHO had set as its milestone for 2025.

A milestone reached late

The WHO’s End TB Strategy had asked countries to cut TB deaths by 35% from 2015 levels by 2020. By 2025, among the 30 countries with the heaviest TB burden, just four outside Africa and Europe had reached it: Bangladesh, Viet Nam, China and India. India and China got there in 2025. The report notes that its estimates of new TB cases in India are under review and refers readers to Annex 4 of the main report.

What the screening drive found

The ministry credited the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, a 100-day push launched in December 2024 that was later extended nationwide and given a second, sharper round in March 2026. Screening has reached more than 25 crore people. Chest X-rays crossed 11 crore and molecular tests 3 crore. The drive found 48.64 lakh people with TB, and 14.97 lakh of them had no symptoms.

Among patients whose TB responds to standard drugs, 94% finished treatment successfully, the minister said. A total of 67,933 panchayats earned TB-free status in 2025. The ministry said 96% of the programme’s funding needs are met from the country’s own resources. Nutrition support reaches patients through the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana. The WHO’s South-East Asia regional office said on social media that India was contributing significantly to reducing TB deaths in the region. The full ministry statement is on the PIB website.

The WHO says major gaps remain in getting patients diagnosed and treated on time. Of all new TB patients diagnosed worldwide in 2025, only 59% were tested with a WHO-recommended rapid test. The target is 100% by 2027.