Controlling TB must be part of BRICS' story in 'golden decade'

The 9th BRICS Summit that concluded in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, on Tuesday has drawn the world's attention to the member nations' tremendous accomplishments and promises. The five BRICS economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - have experienced a combined growth of nearly 180 percent in the past 10 years. They look set to usher in another "golden decade" that will benefit people in BRICS states and beyond.

But while their GDP growth is cause for celebration, there is a glaring health problem that needs to be a priority for the emerging economies that are home to about 44 percent of the world's population: The people in the five countries are among the most vulnerable to tuberculosis, according to the World Health Organization.

The BRICS nations combined account for about 50 percent of all cases of TB in the world, according to the WHO's latest Global Tuberculosis Report. The BRICS nations also account for 40 percent of all TB-related deaths, according to a previous report by WHO, which estimated that 1.4 million people died of TB globally in 2015.