Challenges for Conducting the Tuberculosis Prevalence Survey and Widening the Scope for Ending TB from Low-Income Countries by 2035

The tuberculosis prevalence survey conducted in 2018-2019 has given the new estimation of TB prevalence (117,000) in Nepal. Out of the estimated burden, about 32,000 people were diagnosed and registered in the National Tuberculosis Programme for treatment in 2019. More than half of the projected tuberculosis cases are still missing in the country, which is a major challenge for achieving the END TB targets by 2035. The study aims to identify the challenges of carrying out the National Tuberculosis Prevalence Survey (NTPS) and recommend possible ways to mitigate the encounters in the future study. All tuberculosis prevalence survey reports were obtained from the World Health Organization as grey literature and analyzed the methods that they used to carry out the survey, challenges they faced while conducting the surveys, and programme implications after the surveys. The studies used a cross-sectional population-based random sampling method to select the clusters using the proportional population to size (PPS) method to select primary and secondary sampling units. Multiple challenges existed to conduct the survey in the country. The logistical and transportation of sputum, equipment, and human resources in different geographical terrain, the low positive rate in culture method and less priority given for health-seeking behavior and TB risk factors in the survey. There are several challenges for conducting a nationwide survey. However, they can be resolved by developing alternatives and communicating the plan in advance. The survey always provides the ground to improve and expand the scope of strategies and interventions, which leads to achieving the desired goals in the programme.