On March 24 every year, the world marks the day when Dr Robert Koch announced to the scientific community in 1882 that he had discovered the cause of Tuberculosis – the TB Bacillus. A discovery, which paved the way for finding appropriate diagnostics and treatment for the disease. But even so, 135 years later, one-third of the world population is affected by TB.

World TB Day is commemorated to bring attention to the Tuberculosis epidemic, which killed 1.8 million people worldwide in 2015 alone. The theme of World TB Day, 2017 is ‘Unite to End TB’, as the TB community urges various sections of the society to join hands and lead the fight against the disease.

India, being the country with the highest incidence of TB, accounts for 24% of the global TB cases. Six countries — India, China, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa — account for 60% of the total number of TB cases in the world.

The number of incident cases of Tuberculosis in India has been revised to 2.8 million cases in 2015 and 2.9 million cases in 2014 as against the earlier estimated figures of 2.2 million cases in 2014.

The TB Call to Action Project is being implemented with support from USAID in Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, Bihar and Rajasthan. Through this project, REACH seeks to amplify and support India’s response to TB by involving previously unengaged stakeholders and broadening the conversation around the disease.

Over 1300 people die of TB in India every day. We need your support to end TB. You can speak up and take action today.