Bending the Curve - Ending TB: Annual Report 2017

TB is preventable and completely curable–yet about 710 000 people died of TB in 2015. Incomplete treatment can lead to drug-resistant TB over 200 000 people got DR-TB in 2015. Malnutrition, smoking and diabetes aggravate TB. TB thrives in poverty. It also creates poverty; the poor have a five-time higher chance of getting TB.

This is the second SEAR TB Report as we take first steps into the post 2015 era of the SDGs. In 2015, there was an estimated 4.74 million incidence of TB in the SEA Region, including HIV+TB co-infection. The total number of new cases notified to National TB programmes in the Region were around 2.65 million in appear staggering despite a reasonably good performance. Three countries that are poised well to eliminating TB by 2030 are Maldives, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Nepal too is doing well despite the twin challenges of its mountainous terrain and coping with a major natural disaster. Timor-Leste, though small in terms of absolute TB numbers, faces a major challenge in bringing down its incidence rate.