More people died of TB in 2020

Zimbabwe Civil Liberties and Drug Network (ZCLDN) has said according to the World Health Organisation's 2021 Global TB report, in 2020, more people died from TB.

Indications are that far fewer people were diagnosed and treated or provided with TB preventive treatment compared to 2019, and overall spending on essential TB services falling.

This comes after the global community joined hands last week to commemorate World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, a day set aside to educate the public about the impact of TB around the world.

ZCLDN said this year's commemorations were being held under the theme Invest to End TB, Save Lives, coming on the backdrop of a surge in the number of people that have died of the disease due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"According to WHO's 2021 Global TB report, in 2020, more people died from TB, with far fewer people being diagnosed and treated or provided with TB preventive treatment compared to 2019, and overall spending on essential TB services falling," reads the report.

The report states that TB services are among many other services which were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but the impact on TB has been particularly severe. For example, approximately, 1.5 million people died from TB in 2020 (including 214 000 among HIV positive people), according to WHO.

ZCLDN noted that the world health board said the increase in the number of TB deaths occurred mainly in the 30 countries with the highest burden of TB.