On World Tuberculosis Day, Tuberculosis Pakistan remains a major public health challenge, prompting renewed commitment from the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation, and Coordination and the World Health Organization to step up joint action against a disease that affects over 669,000 people and causes 51,000 deaths each year in the country. Pakistan carries 73 percent of the tuberculosis burden in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, ranks fifth globally, and records more than 1,800 new cases daily and roughly 140 deaths every day.
Officials emphasised that tuberculosis is curable and that early diagnosis and treatment are essential to save lives, urging people to seek care at the 2,031 public and private facilities offering free diagnosis and treatment across Pakistan in line with WHO guidance.
Authorities highlighted progress in expanding case detection and treatment coverage, reporting that more than 497,000 people were reached in 2024, equal to about 74 percent of the estimated affected population, up from 331,800 people covered in 2015. Over the last decade, technical collaboration with WHO has helped provide diagnosis and treatment services to approximately 5 million people affected by TB.
Service improvements include scaling up WHO-recommended rapid molecular diagnostics, with over 562 GeneXpert sites now operating to strengthen early detection and prompt treatment, and national TB guidelines updated to reflect the latest WHO recommendations.
Partnerships and financing, including support from the Global Fund, have supported efforts to strengthen national TB control programmes, upgrade health facilities, expand access to TB services, reduce stigma and integrate TB care with mental health and reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health services.
Syed Mustafa Kamal, Federal Health Minister, said the Government is fully committed to ending TB through coordinated multisectoral action, sustainable domestic financing and a patient-centred approach that engages communities and all stakeholders.
Dr Luo Dapeng, WHO Representative in Pakistan, stressed that TB deaths are preventable because tuberculosis is curable, and reaffirmed WHO’s support to intensify early detection and treatment for everyone, emphasising that leaving no one behind is essential to protect public health and prevent a growing epidemic.
Officials also noted Pakistan’s strong treatment outcomes, with a treatment success rate of 95 percent, and called on partners, communities and citizens to support the national drive under the theme Yes, We Can End TB Led by Countries Powered by People, prioritising prevention, completion of treatment and measures to prevent drug resistance.
