TB cases fall for first time since 2020 – WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says tuberculosis (TB) cases are on a downward trajectory for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.

The global health body said in a report that between 2023 and 2024, the global rate of people falling ill with TB declined by nearly two per cent, while deaths fell by three per cent.

“The number of people being tested and treated is increasing, and research is advancing,” WHO Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus said.

The latest report said as of 2024, over half of the population worldwide is covered by rapid testing, 54 per cent up from 48 per cent in 2023.

In addition, treatment saw a success rate of 88 per cent, according to the report.

WHO warned, however, that TB remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious killers, claiming over 1.2 million lives and affecting an estimated 10.7 million people in 2024.

WHO said some regions have been more successful than others in reducing the prevalence of TB.

Between 2015 and 2024, the WHO African Region managed to reduce the indecent rate by 28 per cent and deaths from the illness went down by 46 per cent.

The European Region saw a 39 per cent drop in incidence and a 49 per cent reduction in deaths.

However, in 2024, 87 per cent of the global number of people who developed TB was concentrated in 30 countries, where social protection remains highly unequal, the report says.

The new report reveals while progress has been made in the global fight against the disease, funding gaps endanger hard-won gains.

“Declines in the global burden of TB, and progress in testing, treatment, social protection and research are all welcome news after years of setbacks, but progress is not victory,”

“The fact that TB continues to claim over a million lives each year, despite being preventable and curable, is simply unconscionable.”

WHO says that global funding for TB has stagnated since 2020, with just 5.9 billion dollars available in 2024, far below the 22 billion dollars annual target for 2027.

The UN health agency raised concerns that cuts could cause up to two million extra deaths and 10 million cases in the next decade.