Nepal is nowhere close to ending tuberculosis
Summary
Nepal faces a severe tuberculosis crisis with 16,000 deaths and 67,000 new infections annually, falling short of WHO targets for 2035 and 2050 due to high infection rates and untreated drug-resistant cases.
Key Points
- Nepal records around 16,000 TB deaths and 67,000 new infections annually, showing no significant decline in infection rates.
- Only 419 of approximately 2,400 drug-resistant TB patients are receiving treatment, with the rest untraced and posing serious health risks.
- Tuberculosis remains a major public health problem, with a high number of undiagnosed cases increasing the spread risk.
- The highest TB burden is in Madhesh province (25%), followed by Bagmati (23%) and Lumbini (20%), highlighting regional disparities.
