<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.3333px;">Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan today released the annual TB Report 2020 through a virtual event.<br />''</span><br style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.3333px;" />''<span style="color: #222222;">According to the report, over 24 lakh TB patients have been notified in 2019. This amounts to a 14 percent increase in TB notification as compared to 2018.<br />''<br />''Near-complete on-line notification of TB patients have been achieved through the NIKSHAY system.<br />''<br />''There has been a reduction in the number of missing cases to 2.9 lakh cases as against more than 10 lakhs in 2017.<br />''<br />''Private sector notifications increased by 35 percent with 6.78 lakh TB patients notified.<br />''<br />''Due to easy availability of molecular diagnostics, the proportion of children diagnosed with TB increased to 8 percent in 2019 compared to 6 percent in 2018.<br />''<br />''Provision of HIV testing for all notified TB patients increased from 67 percent in 2018 to 81 percent in 2019.<br />''<br />''Expansion of treatment services has resulted in a 12 percent improvement in the treatment success rate of notified patients.<br />''<br />''The Minister also released a Joint Monitoring Mission report, a manual on Direct Benefit Transfer to TB patients under NIKSHAY system, a Training Module, and the quarterly newsletter NIKSHAY Patrika.<br />''<br />''He said, there is a need to come together to fight against TB and the stigma surrounding it so that every TB patient can seek care with dignity and without discrimination.<br />''<br />''He said, the community must act as a wellspring of support and comfort for the patients. </span><br />