WHO End TB Strategy
Also called: End TB Strategy · Topic: Human Capital: Education, Health and Demographic Dividend · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The WHO End TB Strategy is the World Health Organization's global plan to end the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic. It runs from 2016 to 2035, and every target is measured against 2015 levels. Its 2030 goals are three: 80% fewer new TB cases, 90% fewer TB deaths, and no TB-affected family facing catastrophic costs. Catastrophic costs means spending so much on treatment and travel, and losing so much in wages, that the family falls into financial crisis. By 2035, the strategy aims for 90% lower incidence (the rate of new cases) and 95% fewer deaths. It matters because India's National TB Elimination Programme is judged against these targets, and they link to SDG 3.3, which is to end TB by 2030.
Example
The WHO Global TB Report 2026 found that India's TB deaths fell 38% between 2015 and 2025. The 2030 target is a 90% fall. India's TB incidence fell from 237 to 187 per lakh people between 2015 and 2024, about 21%. The target is an 80% fall. So India has made real progress, but it is still far from the targets.
Don't confuse with
- TB elimination: elimination is a much higher bar than meeting the End TB targets. It means fewer than 1 TB case per million people.
- Treatment success rate: this is the share of patients on treatment who get cured, for example India's 94% for drug-susceptible TB. It is not one of the End TB targets, which count new cases, deaths and family costs.