The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced in its most recent World tuberculosis report 2024 that Tuberculosis has re-emerged as the leading cause of infectious disease death in 2023, overtaking Covid-19. In 2023, 8.2 million new TB diagnoses were recorded, the highest number since global monitoring began in 1995. This increase represents a jump from the 7.5 million cases reported in 2022.
The report highlights that TB-related deaths decreased from 1.32 million in 2022 to 1.25 million in 2023. However, TB cases increased, reaching 10.8 million people in 2023. The burden of the disease remains concentrated in 30 countries. India, Indonesia, China, the Philippines and Pakistan account for 561% of global cases.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed the need for action, saying: "It is a disgrace that so many people continue to die and become ill from tuberculosis, when we have the tools to prevent, detect and treat the disease."WHO calls on countries to honour their commitments to expand the use of these tools and end tuberculosis.
Persistent challenges according to the World Tuberculosis Report 2024
TB disproportionately affects men, who account for 551 TP3T of cases. Women and children/adolescents make up 331 TP3T and 121 TP3T, respectively. Although preventive treatment coverage was maintained for people living with HIV and improved for household contacts, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB) remains a problem. Treatment success rates for MDR/RR-TB reached 681 TP3T. However, only 441 TP3T of estimated cases received treatment in 2023.
Funding gap and economic challenges
WHO stressed that global funding to prevent and treat TB remains insufficient. In 2023, only $5.7 billion of the $22 billion needed annually was available, covering just 261 TP3T of the global target. The international contribution, led by the United States and the Global Fund, does not meet the demand of low- and middle-income countries, which bear 981 TP3T of the burden.
Impact on households and risk factors
For the first time, the WHO report estimates that half of households affected by TB face catastrophic costs to access diagnosis and treatment. Major risk factors for new cases include malnutrition, HIV infection, alcohol consumption, smoking and diabetes. Addressing these factors and poverty requires multisectoral coordination.
A call to global action
Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO's Global Tuberculosis Programme, highlighted the multifaceted challenges:
We face multiple formidable challenges: funding gaps and catastrophic financial burden for affected people, climate change, conflict, migration and displacement, pandemics and drug-resistant tuberculosis, a major driver of antimicrobial resistance.
The WHO report calls for turning the commitments of the 2023 high-level meeting on tuberculosis into concrete actions. Increased funding for research, especially into new vaccines, is essential to achieving the goals set for 2027.
This report on tuberculosis reflects the WHO's growing concerns about global health crises, including the impact of climate change in public health
