Why are we still not on track to end TB despite decades of scaling up TB services?

by Dr Tara Singh Bam

Over the past several decades, TB control programmes have made significant progress in expanding diagnosis and treatment services. Success has traditionally been measured by programme indicators, such as detecting 70% of estimated TB cases and successfully treating 85% of those diagnosed. Achieving these targets has rightly saved millions of lives.

Declaration calls on Indonesia to ratify global treaty and hold nicotine and tobacco industry liable

An important Declaration endorsed by over 1500 experts has called upon Indonesia to ratify the lifesaving global tobacco treaty and hold tobacco and nicotine industries liable. The declaration also calls for implementing several other proven measures to protect its children and people from deadly tobacco and nicotine products.

Tobacco-free and nicotine-free future is a bedrock to deliver on #EndTB and SDGs

According to the latest WHO Global TB Report 2025 released a week ago, tobacco smoking is among the top-5 risk factors for the deadliest of all infectious diseases worldwide - tuberculosis (TB). In countries with alarmingly high tobacco use, like Indonesia, tobacco use is the biggest risk factor for TB. Tobacco is also among the major common risk factors for a range of other non-infectious (or non-communicable) diseases, such as heart diseases and stroke, cancers, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, among others.

Myanmar implements standardised plain packaging to curb deadly tobacco's 'appeal'

Tobacco use poses a severe burden on Myanmar’s health and economy, killing about 64,000 people each year. Myanmar has marked a significant milestone in protecting public health and advancing global tobacco control efforts with the successful implementation of standardised plain packaging on tobacco products.

Tobacco vendor licensing plugs the loopholes in implementing lifesaving health laws

Before the intergovernmental global tobacco treaty meet opens next month, experts call for tobacco vendor licensing so that governments can enforce lifesaving tobacco control policies effectively, protect children and youth from misleading tobacco industry tactics and lies, and progress towards ending tobacco use. “No one must suffer from tobacco-related diseases or die of them,” rightly said Dr Tara Singh Bam, noted global health expert and Asia Pacific Director (Tobacco Control) of Vital Strategies.

Celebrating those who courageously stand with public health and human rights despite tobacco industry interference

photo courtesy: HealthTVonline.com

Before world leaders meet at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025 at the High-Level Meeting on non-communicable diseases (NCDs), it is important to underline that the major common risk factor of most NCDs is tobacco and nicotine use. Tobacco is also a major risk factor for deadliest infectious disease TB (and COVID-19). Unless we decimate (or eliminate) such risk factors, how will we deliver on the promises enshrined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030?

Commitment to end tobacco must translate to bold actions on the ground

Commitment to end tobacco must translate to bold actions on the ground, said Dr Tara Singh Bam. He exhorted the new government of Indonesia to sign and ratify the global tobacco treaty (formally called the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control or WHO FCTC) in the interest of the health and wellbeing of its people.

We cannot turn a blind eye to preventable epidemics if we are to deliver on SDGs

The epidemic-proportion diseases and untimely deaths caused by tobacco use are entirely preventable. Likewise, we have science-based tools and approaches to find all TB cases, treat all of them and prevent transmission of the disease. When even one TB or tobacco death is a death too many, how can one explain 1.25 million TB deaths and over 8 million tobacco-related deaths in 2023 alone? How can TB disease, that is entirely preventable (and curable), become the deadliest infectious disease worldwide?

Catapulting funding crisis into opportunity by getting on track to end TB and tobacco use

The funding crises forced upon by the US government on several low- and middle-income countries is an opportunity in disguise to improve programme efficiency and outcome and invest optimally in health and development responses from domestic coffers.

Decades of failure to end TB and tobacco use

Despite strong scientific and community-based evidence to support tobacco and TB control, 1.1 million people died of TB in 2023 and over 8 million died of tobacco use in the same year. “Tobacco is an entirely preventable epidemic,” rightly said Dr Tara Singh Bam who is a force for change when it comes to stronger actions to prevent avoidable diseases and save lives in low- and middle-income countries.

[video] Leadership in addressing TB-tobacco co-epidemic

[video] At least a century of inequities and injustices plaguing the TB response

At least a century of inequities and injustices plaguing the TB response

Watch the recording

Join us on 15th October 2024, in a special session of End TB Dialogues on the theme: At least a century of inequities and injustices plaguing the TB response.

Indonesia is enforcing stronger anti-tobacco measures despite industry interference

There is plenty of scientific evidence to show that tobacco kills one out of every two of its users (as per the WHO). Tobacco use devastates lives and fractures families killing over 8 million people every year – year after year. While governments are enforcing stronger evidence-based tobacco control measures, the tobacco industry is conniving to lure children and young people into addiction traps and reap bigger profits by selling its deadly products.

The deadly intersection: TB and tobacco smoking co-epidemics in Indonesia

In the lead up to World No Tobacco Day later this month, it is high time we recognise and effectively address the deadly synergy between the two epidemics: tobacco use and tuberculosis (TB). Tobacco is the single-largest preventable cause of death worldwide and TB continues to be the deadliest of infectious diseases in high burden countries (even despite the COVID-19 pandemic).