Tuberculosis Has 'Profound Financial Implications' for India: Health Minister Nadda

Tuberculosis continued to be a curse for the Indian population for centuries. While this lethal disease has already been eradicated in many parts of the world by following the latest preventive and curative measures, the disease continues to significant implications on public health and finance. This is what resonated when India’s Union Minister of Health J.P. Nadda has said that “Tuberculosis has profound financial implications for India”.

In this respect, some statistical information is necessary to see the problem in its entirety. According to data received from international and government agencies, 27% of the global TB population lives in India and this alone makes India the biggest victim of TB among all the countries in the world. Naturally, the threatening role of TB for public health and overall life standard both of which are crucial parameters of the financial strength cannot be undermined.

The Union Minister of Health J.P. Nadda actually referred to the issue in response to a recent report published by The Lancet. According to the Lancet analysis, tuberculosis in India is responsible to keep people under the clutches of poverty and malnutrition even after they completed their treatment and cured of the disease. The survey obviously referred to the poor living standard and lack of support system that can keep these people to escape poverty and consequently the disease forever.

The Lancet study also implied the direct negative effect of the disease on the economy in general. The unavoidable death from the disease is destined to cost the Indian economy $32 billion for each year for the next three decades or so, as mentioned by the report. The minister’s comment is actually the part of the 62-page long report by the Lancet Commission on Tuberculosis, entitled as “TB Free World”.

The report has a series of important findings on the proliferation of TB in India and its impact on public health as well as financial institutions of the country. According to the report, there have been around 2 million new TB cases that were found last year.

India’s National Strategic Plan for TB has been budgeted $2 billion, which is now “fully funded and operational”. Apart from this, India allocates $100 million annually, to provide nutrition to TB patients. This finding of new cases of TB made an overwhelming figure of total 3,00,000 TB cases in just a single calendar year. The increase is a whopping 16% compared to the previous figure. According to the report, only privately funded, research and healthcare institutions working beside public-funded ones and political will can actually make this situation better for the future