The theme of this year’s World TB Day is “Yes! We can end TB.” TB is a bacterial infection spread through tiny droplets from the coughs and sneezes of an infected person. It is one of the world’s deadliest diseases but can be cured with proper treatment.​ In 2022, 10.6 million people fell ill with TB and 1.3 million people died of the disease. In recent years, there has been a worrying increase in drug-resistant TB.

Myanmar is one of 30 countries identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as having a high burden of TB, HIV-associated TB, and TB drug resistance. The WHO estimates that the number of people who had TB in Myanmar rose by more than a third from 194,000 in 2021 to 257,000 in 2022. Estimated deaths from TB in Myanmar also rose nearly 40% from 36,000 in 2021 to nearly 50,000 in 2022. According to the National TB Prevalence Survey (2018), the Yangon Region has the highest TB burden nationally.

World TB Day is an opportunity to accelerate action to end TB. Crucial to these efforts are public awareness and access to timely, affordable health care. Civil society organizations play a vital role in Myanmar and worldwide in raising awareness of TB, identifying suspected cases, and connecting people to care.