Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases globally, claiming over 1.2 million lives and affecting an estimated 10.7 million people in 2024, according to the WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2025. Despite notable progress in diagnosis, treatment, and innovation, persistent challenges in funding and equitable access to care threaten to reverse gains in the global fight against TB. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized that while improvements in testing, treatment, and social protection are encouraging, TB continues to kill over a million people annually, underscoring the urgent need to accelerate efforts to end the disease by 2030.
Global progress has been achieved, with the overall rate of people falling ill with TB declining by nearly 2% between 2023 and 2024, and TB-related deaths decreasing by 3%. Some regions have seen significant reductions over the past decade, including the WHO African Region, which achieved a 28% drop in TB incidence and a 46% reduction in deaths from 2015 to 2024. The European Region recorded even greater declines, with a 39% fall in incidence and a 49% reduction in deaths. Over 100 countries achieved at least a 20% reduction in TB incidence, and 65 countries reached a 35% or more decrease in TB deaths, demonstrating that strong political commitment and investment can produce meaningful results. However, high-burden countries still account for the majority of cases, with eight countries alone—India, Indonesia, the Philippines, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Bangladesh—making up 67% of global TB cases in 2024.
Major advances in TB diagnosis and treatment have contributed to saving an estimated 83 million lives since 2000. In 2024, 8.3 million people were newly diagnosed and received treatment, covering roughly 78% of those who fell ill. Rapid testing coverage increased from 48% in 2023 to 54% in 2024, while treatment success rates for drug-susceptible TB remained at 88%. Efforts to address drug-resistant TB have also progressed, with 164,000 people receiving treatment in 2024 and the treatment success rate improving to 71%. Preventive treatment reached 5.3 million high-risk individuals, up from 4.7 million the previous year.
Addressing the structural and social drivers of TB, such as undernutrition, HIV, diabetes, smoking, and alcohol use, remains critical. WHO highlighted that social protection coverage in high-burden countries is highly unequal, ranging from 3.1% in Uganda to 94% in Mongolia, with 19 countries reporting coverage below 50%. Multisectoral action and coordinated interventions are essential to confront these underlying determinants and strengthen community resilience against the epidemic.
Funding gaps continue to endanger global TB progress. In 2024, only US$5.9 billion was available for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment—just over a quarter of the US$22 billion target set for 2027. Reductions in international donor funding from 2025 onwards could result in up to 2 million additional deaths and 10 million new cases between 2025 and 2035. TB research funding remains insufficient at US$1.2 billion in 2023, representing only 24% of the target. Despite progress, including 63 diagnostic tests, 29 drugs, and 18 vaccines under development, intensified investment is needed to accelerate innovation.
WHO continues to call for sustained political commitment, increased domestic funding, and accelerated research to end TB. Dr. Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO’s Department for HIV, TB, Hepatitis and STIs, emphasized that while funding cuts and persistent drivers of the epidemic threaten progress, global solidarity and robust investment can turn the tide and eliminate this ancient killer.
