UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — WHO flags funding gaps in prevention, treatment of TB

Q1. With reference to the different layers of global commitments on tuberculosis (TB), consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Sustainable Development Goal target on TB has a 2030 deadline, and progress towards it is tracked through TB incidence per 1,00,000 population.
  2. The WHO End TB Strategy aims to bring both TB incidence and TB deaths down to zero by 2035 compared with 2015 levels.
  3. The political declaration of the 2023 UN High-Level Meeting on TB replaced the End TB Strategy, making 2027 the final endpoint of the global TB agenda.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q2. Consider the following facts: India's estimated TB incidence fell from 237 per lakh population in 2015 to 187 per lakh in 2024, a decline of about 21%. The WHO End TB Strategy's milestone for 2025 was a 50% reduction in the TB incidence rate compared with 2015. Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above?

  1. TB deaths in India must also have fallen by about 21% over 2015–2024.
  2. By 2024, India's decline in TB incidence was on a slower trajectory than that required to meet the End TB Strategy's 2025 milestone.
  3. If India's population grew over 2015–2024, the absolute number of new TB cases fell by less than 21%.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q3. Consider the following statements regarding drug-resistant tuberculosis: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. A TB patient whose bacteria are resistant to isoniazid and streptomycin but remain susceptible to rifampicin is not classified as having multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).
  2. MDR-TB is defined as resistance to any two or more first-line anti-TB drugs.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q4. Consider the following assertion: 'Growing reliance on domestic financing has made the global TB response more self-reliant in aggregate, but low-income countries outside the largest economies remain exposed to donor cuts.' Which of the statements given below support the above assertion?

  1. The five BRICS countries together account for about two-thirds of all domestic TB funding in low- and middle-income countries.
  2. TB research and innovation funding is less than a quarter of its annual target.
  3. Domestic sources accounted for about 86% of TB spending in 2025.
  4. The WHO South-East Asia Region accounted for the largest share of new TB cases in 2025.
  • A. 2 and 4 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q5. With reference to how the WHO Global Tuberculosis Report tracks TB financing, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Member States' assessed contributions to WHO are the main source of the international donor funding for TB that the report records.
  2. The report's financing data separate domestic funding from funding provided by the Global Fund and by other international donors.
  3. Since the report is a WHO publication, its financing figures cover only WHO's own spending on TB programmes in countries.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 only
  • D. 2 only

Q6. With reference to tuberculosis and the tools used against it, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Most people infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis develop active TB disease within a few weeks of infection.
  2. TB spreads mainly through the air from people with active lung TB, so early case-finding and treatment also reduce transmission.
  3. BCG is given to infants because it reliably prevents pulmonary TB in adults, the main source of transmission.
  4. Rapid molecular tests that detect rifampicin resistance at diagnosis help put patients on a suitable drug-resistant TB regimen without delay.
  • A. 2 and 4 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 2, 3 and 4 only

Q7. Under India's TB elimination effort, the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana provides monthly nutrition support to TB patients for the duration of treatment through direct benefit transfer, and the Ni-kshay Mitra initiative extends food support to patients' household contacts. Consider the following statements regarding the rationale for these measures: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Undernutrition weakens immune defences and raises the risk that TB infection progresses to active disease.
  2. Income support during treatment helps guard against catastrophic costs that can lead patients to interrupt treatment.
  3. Household contacts are targeted because, TB being airborne, they face a higher risk of infection than the general population.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3