Tuberculosis โDeaths Drop to 1.23 Million, But โคProgress Threatened by โFunding Shortfall, WHO Reports
Geneva, Switzerland – Global deaths from tuberculosis (TB) fellโข by 3% to 1.23 million people in 2024, marking the first decline in cases and deaths as โthe COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Institution (WHO) announced Wednesday in its annual TB report. โขOverall TB cases also decreased by nearly 2% sinceโข 2023.
The positive trend comes as a record 8.3 โmillion people accessed TB treatment following a new diagnosis, and treatment success rates rose from 68% to 71%. Though, the WHO cautioned that this progress is at risk due to a significant shortfall in financial aid, perhaps reversing hard-won โฃgains.
“Declines in the global burden of TB and progress in testing, treatment,โค social protection and research are all welcomeโข news after years โขof setbacks, butโค progress is not โขvictory,” said WHOโ Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “The fact that โคTB continues to claim overโฃ a โmillion lives each โyear despite being preventable and curable is simply unconscionable.”
In 2024, โฃavailable funding for TB prevention, diagnosis, andโข treatment reached $5.9 billion -โ far short of the $22โฃ billion annual target set for 2027. The WHO warns that sustained funding cuts could lead to up to 2 million additional deaths and 10 โขmillion more people falling ill with TB between 2025 โand 2035.
While TB deaths in 2024 represent a 29% decrease from 2015 levels,โ the WHO had aimed for a 75% โreduction โฃby 2025 and a 90% reductionโฃ byโ 2030.
“Long-term cuts to internationalโ donor โคfunding could โคresult in up to 2 million additional deaths and 10 million people falling ill with โTB between 2025 and 2035,” warned Tereza Kasaeva, director of โWHOS division for tuberculosis, HIV and related infections.
The agency’s financial stability has been challenged recently,including a 21% โฃcut to proposed spending following the United States’โข withdrawal from the WHO in January. โ Reductions in foreign aid from the US Agency forโข International Progress have also raised concerns.Theโข WHO estimates that critical international aid โฃprevented 3.65 million deaths from โTB last โขyear.
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease usually caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria. It primarily affects the lungs,โค but can also affect โขother parts of the body. TB is spread through the air when people with activeโค TB disease cough, sneeze, or โotherwise transmit the infection. While preventable and curable with a course of antibiotics, โฃTB remains one of the world’sโ deadliest infectious โฃdiseases, disproportionately impacting low- and middle-income countries.
