Every 20 seconds, tuberculosis claims a life.
By the time you finish reading this, three more people may be gone.
That’s the reality of TB in 2026. A disease that is curable, yet still the world’s deadliest infectious killer. It is responsible for over 1.2 million deaths each year.
While it is an ancient disease, the crisis today is a modern one. Drug-resistant strains and missing cases in hard-to-reach communities continue to fuel the epidemic.
But for the first time in decades, the fight against TB is starting to feel… winnable.
Not just because of medicine. But because of technology.
From AI that sees TB on an X-ray in seconds to smartphones detecting TB through a cough, healthtech is helping move from managing TB to actually ending it.
Why World Tuberculosis Day still matters
On March 24, 1882, Dr Robert Koch discovered Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium behind TB.
It’s been over 140 years, and we’re still fighting it. In 2024 alone, an estimated 10.7 million people fell ill with TB globally.
In India, which carries the world’s highest TB burden, the stakes are even higher. The nation strives to reach its ambitious goal of elimination by late 2026, five years ahead of the global 2030 target.
It’s a bold bet. But not an unrealistic one. Because the momentum is real:
- Incidence rates are slowly declining globally
- The focus has shifted from mere control to total elimination
- Every $1 invested in TB care generates up to $43 in economic returns
- And innovation is accelerating faster than ever
This year’s theme, “Yes! We Can End TB: Led by countries, powered by people,” is a signal that the strategy has changed.
And we can finally turn the tide.
From control to elimination: What’s actually working
To achieve these goals, India’s National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) is leveraging four simple, but powerful pillars:
- Detect: Finding missing cases early with high-sensitivity diagnostics like molecular testing (NAAT).
- Treat: Ensuring universal access to quality-assured, patient-friendly drug regimens for all forms of TB.
- Prevent: Implementing aggressive contact tracing and providing Preventive Treatment (TPT) to high-risk individuals.
- Build: Strengthening the digital and clinical infrastructure.
And healthtech innovation is accelerating each of these.
The science is finally catching up
For years, TB treatment, especially for drug-resistant TB, was long, painful, and often ineffective.
Now that is changing with big breakthroughs in research.
New all-oral regimens like BPaLM (bedaquiline, pretomanid, linezolid, and moxifloxacin) are cutting treatment time from 18 months to just 6 months, with success rates above 85%.
At the same time, vaccine innovation is gaining ground.
The M72/AS01E vaccine candidate, currently in Phase III trials, is showing immense promise in protecting adults from developing active TB. It could become the first effective adult TB vaccine. Something the world has been waiting decades for.
Startups to watch: Reimagining TB care from the ground up
Across India and beyond, startups are quietly solving some of TB’s hardest problems: detection, access, adherence, and stigma.
Qure.ai
Founders: Prashant Warier and Pooja Rao
Year: 2016 | Location: Mumbai, India
We admire Qure.ai for making screening instantaneous. Their AI-powered software, qXR, can detect signs of TB on a chest X-ray in less than a minute.
This enables large-scale screening in rural areas where radiologists are scarce, ensuring patients are flagged for testing before they leave the clinic.
Salcit Technologies (Swaasa)
Founders: Narayana Rao Sripada, Venkat Yechuri, and Manmohan Jain
Year: 2017 | Location: Hyderabad, India
Salcit Technologies has developed Swaasa, an AI-powered “audiometric” platform that detects tuberculosis and other respiratory issues by analysing the sound of a patient’s cough.
It turns smartphones into a diagnostic tool for rapid, non-invasive screening in 15 seconds. It is particularly effective for reaching underserved populations where X-ray machines are scarce.
The platform is currently integrated with India’s NTEP to help identify undiagnosed cases early.
Molbio Diagnostics
Founder: Sriram Natarajan and Chandrashekhar Nair
Year: 2000 | Location: Goa, India
Molbio has introduced the Truenat platform. It is the world’s first battery-operated, point-of-care molecular diagnostic tool. Truenat brings high-end DNA testing out of sophisticated labs and into primary health centres, diagnosing TB and drug resistance in under an hour.
Everwell Health Solutions
Founders: Andrew Cross and Bill Thies
Year: 2015 | Location: Bangalore, India
We admire Everwell for pioneering “99DOTS.” This digital adherence technology uses simple phone calls and SMS to help patients stay on track with their medication. Their platform also powers the Nikshay portal, the backbone of India’s digital TB monitoring system.
Keheala
Founders: Jon Rethauser
Year: 2014 | Location: Tel Aviv, Israel
Keheala is tackling the “motivation gap.” Using behavioural science and mobile messaging, they provide a support ecosystem that reduces the stigma of TB and uses “nudge” psychology to ensure patients complete their full treatment course.
The way forward
For over a century, the fight against TB has been slow, fragmented, and deeply unequal. Distance, infrastructure, stigma, all of it stood in the way.
But in 2026, that’s no longer the biggest barrier.
The tools exist. The science is working. The funding is growing.
What remains is execution. It’s about getting these innovations into the hands of the people who need them most.
And if we get that right, this could be the last generation that lives under the shadow of what was once called the White Plague.
-By Rohini Kundu and the AHT Team
