Resources

Despite a declining trend of tuberculosis (TB) incidence in 2018, the incidence in WHO Southeast Asia Region (WHO SEAR) remains high.1 2 WHO SEAR has 11 member states—Bangladesh, Bhutan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste. Close to half of all new TB cases worldwide and more than 50% of TB deaths globally (excluding those due to TB-HIV coinfection) are accounted for by this region. TB is also the leading cause for disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost among people in the region among all communicable diseases, affecting the productive age group of the countries in SEAR. Without TB elimination in SEAR, there will be no global TB elimination. 

This paper by BMJ Global Health examines the resources needed to end TB in SEAR and the potential funding gaps that impede our progress. The costing analysis undertaken provides an assessment of the resources needed to mount a comprehensive response to meet the global end TB targets in SEAR countries. The cost calculations in this paper are additionally validated by various modelling approaches. Without the investments, targets that are estimated and the country-specific monitoring in SEAR would be unattainable.

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