Tuberculosis

The WHO South-East Asia Region, home to less than a quarter of the global population, continues to bear a disproportionate TB burden accounting for more than one in every three new TB cases worldwide emerging annually. With approximately 34% of global incident TB and an incidence rate of 201 per 100,000 in 2024, SEAR remains pivotal to achieving the global End TB targets. Five of the global high TB burden countries are in the SEA Region: Bangladesh, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, Myanmar and Thailand while for RR-/MDR-TB burden, Nepal replaces Thailand in the high-burden list for the Region. Undernutrition and diabetes remain the Region’s top TB risk factors. Almost half of all TB-affected families (44%) face catastrophic costs, while funding for TB programmes has stalled, threatening hard-won gains.

The Region has reduced TB incidence by 16% since 2015, slightly faster than the global average of 12%. However. deaths are not falling fast enough, and the Region’s TB rate – 201 per 100 000 people – remains well above the global average of 131 per 100 000 people. Drug-resistant TB continues to pose a serious threat, with 150 000 new cases estimated to be emerging in in 2024. Still, the Region has achieved notable gains: treatment coverage now exceeds 85%, and treatment success rates are among the highest in the world. Preventive therapy for people living with HIV and household contacts has also expanded sharply, outpacing global averages.

TB burden in 2024 continued to vary across the Region. Myanmar and Timor-Leste continued to record high TB incidence rates between 480-500 per 100 000 population, placing them among the higher-incidence settings globally. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Thailand reported incidence levels between 146 and 269 per 100 000 reflecting steady but too-slow declines. Sri Lanka and Maldives remained relatively low incidence settings, with incidence ranging from 50-99 and 10-49 cases per 100 000 population, respectively. 

For more information, please refer to the WHO Global TB Report 2025