Tuberculosis (TB) remained a major public health challenge and a barrier to achieving universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in Asia, which accounted for 65% of the global TB burden. Nine ADB developing member countries—Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Tajikistan, and Viet Nam—collectively contributed nearly half of global TB incidence. Millions of undiagnosed or late-diagnosed cases continued to fuel transmission despite longstanding national TB programs, with high incidence, diagnostic delays, and socio-economic disparities slowing progress.

The burden remained concentrated in vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations, including dense urban settlements, rural and remote communities, displaced populations, correctional facilities, and individuals with comorbidities such as HIV or diabetes. Reliance on symptom-based screening missed many asymptomatic or subclinical cases, while dependence on passive case detection and sputum microscopy prolonged diagnostic delays and enabled ongoing transmission. A shift toward proactive, population-level screening of high-risk groups has become essential, particularly with the emergence of AI-assisted digital chest X-rays, molecular diagnostics, smartphone-based cough analysis, and biomarker-based tests that enable earlier and more accurate detection.

To support this shift, ADB—through the ExCITD regional technical assistance and in close collaboration with the Stop TB Partnership—completed a jointly commissioned impact modelling and economic assessment of next-generation TB diagnostics and screening approaches. The study evaluated the potential effects of scaling up innovative tools on TB incidence, mortality, and cost implications across nine high-burden countries in Asia and the Pacific. The resulting webinar presented these findings and created a platform, supported by ADB’s SECURE and ExCITD technical assistance programs, for governments and partners to exchange knowledge, review investment priorities, and discuss strategies for accelerating the adoption of advanced TB diagnostics to strengthen health security and advance progress toward TB elimination.