In March last year, I had written about the potential negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on tuberculosis (TB) services. I had expressed concern that TB services is might be one of the biggest casualties. A year later, the verdict is in: the pandemic has had a devastating impact on TB services. According to WHO, an estimated 1.4 million fewer people received necessary care for TB during 2020 compared with the previous year, because of Covid-19. According to the Stop TB Partnership, 12 months of Covid-19 eliminated 12 years of progress in the global fight against TB.

In a blog post published in Forbes, Madhukar Pai reflects on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on AIDS, TB and malaria responses. "The ‘Big Three’ are predicted to get bigger. AIDS, TB and malaria are predicted to kill many more in the coming months and years."

"It is clear that the coronavirus pandemic has just made it incredibly difficult to script an endgame for the “Big Three” killer epidemics. The SDG goal is to end the epidemics of AIDS, TB and malaria by 2030. Is this still possible?... How are global leaders and agencies dedicated to AIDS, TB, and malaria reacting to the pandemic?"

As the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic sweeps the world, I and others working to fight TB have growing anxiety about what this pandemic will do to a much older infectious killer - tuberculosis (TB). We know from the Ebola experience that epidemics can disrupt even basic services such as routine immunization. No doubt, COVID-19 will adversely affect all routine health services everywhere. But TB services is might be one of the biggest casualties. Why?

Diseases that have plagued humanity since ancient times continue to hold billions of people back, and tuberculosis is one of the most significant among them. Today, there are an estimated 10-million-plus new TB cases each year, and the disease causes more than 1.6 million deaths, earning it the dubious honor of being the world’s number one infectious killer. 

In an article published in The Conversation, Dr. Madhukar Pai reflects on the UN High-Level Meeting on TB commitments and calls for greater ambition in the fight against TB, "...the biggest problem is not money or science but a lack of ambition."

A recent government commitment could turn the tide on systemic neglect that has allowed TB to continue to exist.

For too long, TB patients and care providers have been fighting a protracted battle with antiquated, inefficient tools, diagnostics, vaccines and drug regimens.

World TB Day 2018 is turning out to be special — never in the history of tuberculosis (TB) control has there been greater political attention and commitment to tackling the infectious disease that causes nearly two million deaths a year.

The 3rd Edition of Let's Talk TB, a free, online book, aims to provide primary care providers with the most relevant information on how to diagnose and manage TB.