Global tuberculosis rates fell about 2% in 2024 from the previous year, shows a World Health Organisation report, after rising for three consecutive years due to Covid-related disruptions to diagnosis and treatment of the infectious disease.
Most indicators of the disease burden were moving in the right direction after setbacks during the pandemic, but progress still fell short of 2030 targets, the agency said.
“Funding cuts to international aid in many low and middle income countries threaten to reverse the hard won gains," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Reuters reports that WHO had adopted the “End TB Strategy” in 2014 and 2015 that included targets for 2020, 2025, 2030 and 2035 to sharply cut TB incidence, deaths and patient costs.
In 2024, 1.23m people died from TB, a fall of 29% from 2015 – and far off the goals of a 75% reduction by 2025 and a 90% lowering by 2030.
“Long-term cuts to international donor funding could result in up to 2m additional deaths and 10m people contracting TB between 2025 and 2035,” said Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO's division for TB, HIV and related infections.
The United States withdrew from the WHO in January, citing alleged mismanagement, creating a multi-billion-dollar gap in the agency’s 2026–27 budget and forcing a 21% cut in proposed spending.
Critical international aid, particularly from the US Agency for International Development, had helped avert about 3.65m deaths from the deadly disease last year alone, according to WHO.
WHO said the Geneva-based Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria remained the largest international donor for low- and middle-income countries.
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