Tuberculosis (TB) is once again in the global spotlight as the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that years of progress in fighting the deadly disease could be undone by severe funding shortfalls and unequal access to care.
In its Global Tuberculosis Report 2025 released today, WHO reveals that TB continues to kill over 1.2 million people and infect an estimated 10.7 million others each year, despite being both preventable and curable.
The report warns that despite measurable progress in diagnosis, treatment, and innovation, persistent financial gaps and inequitable access to health services threaten to reverse hard-won global 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,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“The fact that TB continues to claim over a million lives each year, despite being preventable and curable, is simply unconscionable.”
The report highlights that between 2023 and 2024, global TB cases fell by nearly 2 percent while deaths declined by 3 percent, showing a steady recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic disruptions. The WHO African Region achieved a 28 percent decline in TB incidence and a 46 percent reduction in deaths between 2015 and 2024, while the European Region recorded even greater progress.
However, 87 percent of new TB cases in 2024 were concentrated in just 30 countries, with India, Indonesia, the Philippines, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Bangladesh accounting for more than two-thirds of the global burden.
WHO credits advances in diagnosis and treatment—such as 8.3 million new people accessing care and improved success rates for drug-resistant TB—to sustained innovation and global collaboration.
Despite these gains, the report warns of a worsening financial crisis. Only US$5.9 billion was available in 2024 for TB prevention, diagnosis, and treatment—barely a quarter of the $22 billion needed annually by 2027. Research funding remains similarly limited, with just $1.2 billion recorded in 2023.
WHO cautions that continued cuts to donor funding could lead to two million additional deaths and 10 million new infections between 2025 and 2035 if urgent action is not taken.
“We are at a defining moment in the fight against TB,” said Dr. Tereza Kasaeva, Director of the WHO Department for HIV, TB, Hepatitis and STIs.
“Funding cuts and persistent drivers of the epidemic threaten to undo hard-won gains, but with political commitment, sustained investment, and global solidarity, we can turn the tide and end this ancient killer once and for all.”
The 2025 report calls on governments, multilateral donors, and the private sector to scale up financing for TB services, strengthen health systems, and prioritize access to care for high-burden countries.
WHO emphasizes that ending TB by 2030, as pledged under the Sustainable Development Goals, remains achievable only if the world closes the growing funding gap before it becomes catastrophic.