TEHRAN – An official with the ministry of health has said that all diagnosis and medical services for the treatment of tuberculosis are free of charge in the country.

About 15 million people in Iran have latent tuberculosis, that is, they have been living with this infection for years, but they are not sick and they do not transmit tuberculosis to others, IRNA quoted Mahshid Nasehi as saying.

She made the remarks on the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day which is marked each year on March 24.

More than seven thousand patients with tuberculosis were identified in the country in the past Iranian calendar year that ended on March 20, she said, adding that diagnosis, hospitalization, and medication for these patients are free of charge.

Each year World Tuberculosis Day is commemorated to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social, and economic consequences of tuberculosis (TB) and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic.

The date marks the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB, which opened the way towards diagnosing and curing this disease.

Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 79 million lives since 2000. However, the drastic and abrupt cuts in global health funding happening now are threatening to reverse these gains. Rising drug resistance especially across Europe and the ongoing conflicts across West Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe, are further exacerbating the situation for the most vulnerable.

Under the theme Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver, World Tuberculosis Day 2025 campaign highlighted a rallying cry for urgency, accountability, and hope. “The huge gains the world has made against TB over the past 20 years are now at risk as cuts to funding start to disrupt access to services for prevention, screening, and treatment for people with TB,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “But we cannot give up on the concrete commitments that world leaders made at the UN General Assembly just 18 months ago to accelerate work to end TB.”