WHO reports that Tuberculosis deaths rose during the pandemic

Countries such as Indonesia, Philippines, India and Pakistan are severely affected by these diseases.

A report by the WHO shows that deaths from tuberculosis have increased between 2019 and 2021. The pandemic severely derailed efforts to tackle the disease and have reversed years of significant work. The results are not only limited to tuberculosis, but the pandemic has set back global efforts to tackle other deadly diseases such as Malaria, AIDS etc. The health crisis has particularly affected the response to TB and led countries to fall behind in meeting targets to curb the infectious disease.

The World Health Organization asked the world to put to practical use the lessons learnt from the pandemic to tackle these deadly diseases. Countries such as Indonesia, Philippines, India and Pakistan are severely affected by these diseases. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, ”If the pandemic has taught us anything, it's that with solidarity, determination, innovation and the equitable use of tools, we can overcome severe health threats.” The report estimates that in 2021 around 1.6 million people were killed by tuberculosis. The report also talks about a possibility where in the near future TB could replace COVID-19 to become the leading cause of death worldwide from a single infectious agent.