A new global report shows that while cases continue to rise in the Americas, improvements in diagnosis and treatment are helping to reduce deaths
November 1, 2024 – The World Health Organization (WHO) released a new report on tuberculosis (TB) revealing that globally, approximately 8.2 million people were newly diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2023, the number highest recorded since the WHO began global monitoring of tuberculosis in 1995. It represents a notable increase from the 7.5 million reported in 2022, placing tuberculosis again as the leading infectious disease killer in 2023, overcoming COVID-19.
WHO’s Global Tuberculosis Report 2024 highlights mixed progress in the global fight against tuberculosis, including persistent challenges such as a significant lack of funding.
In the Americas, while an estimated 342,000 people were diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2023, an increase of 6.6% from the previous year, the number of people who died as a result of the disease has begun to decline, by 5.4 % between 2022 and 2023.
This reduction is due to an increase in the number of people diagnosed and treated: from 76% in 2022 to 78% in 2023.
The report shows that the disease disproportionately affects people in 30 countries with high incidence: India (26%), Indonesia (10%), China (6.8%), Philippines (6.8%) and Pakistan (6.3%). %) together represented 56% of the global burden of tuberculosis. In the Americas, eight countries account for 80% of tuberculosis cases in the Region, while others, particularly in the Caribbean region, have reduced incidence to low levels and some are close to the threshold for elimination of the disease.
According to the report, 55% of people who developed tuberculosis were men, 33% women and 12% children and young adolescents.
“The fact that tuberculosis still kills and sickens so many people is a scandal, when we have the tools to prevent, detect and treat it,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. «WHO urges all countries to fulfill the concrete commitments they have made to scale up the use of these tools and end tuberculosis.»
In 2023, globally, the gap between the estimated number of new TB cases and those reported has narrowed to approximately 2.7 million, below COVID-19 pandemic levels of around 4 million in 2020 and 2021. This is the result of important national, regional and global efforts. to recover from COVID-related disruptions to TB services. Coverage of tuberculosis preventive treatment has been maintained for people living with HIV and continues to improve for household contacts of people diagnosed with tuberculosis.
However, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis remains a public health crisis. Treatment success rates for multidrug-resistant or rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB) have now reached 68%. But, of the estimated 400,000 people who developed RR/MDR-TB, only 44% were diagnosed and treated in 2023.
To address the tuberculosis epidemic, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) calls on countries to urgently implement new technologies and strategies that allow them to move towards the elimination of tuberculosis. These include the implementation of rapid molecular tests to detect the disease at the primary health care level. Although the use of these tests increased from 40% to 48% between 2022 and 2023, it still does not reach the goal of 100%.
PAHO also recommends that countries in the Americas use AI-assisted radiography for active case finding within vulnerable and most affected communities, as well as shorter oral regimens for treatment and prevention.
Funding gaps and challenges
Global funding for tuberculosis prevention and care continued to decline in 2023 and remains well below target. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), which bear 98% of the TB burden, faced significant funding shortfalls. Only $5.7 billion of the $22 billion annual funding target was available in 2023, equivalent to just 26% of the global target.
The total amount of international donor funding in low- and middle-income countries has remained between $1.1 and $1.2 billion per year for several years. The United States government remains the largest bilateral donor for tuberculosis. While the contribution of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) to international financing of the tuberculosis response, especially in low- and middle-income countries, remains insufficient to cover the essential needs for tuberculosis services. The report emphasizes that sustained financial investment is crucial to the success of tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis and treatment efforts.
Globally, TB research remains underfunded and only one-fifth of the annual target of $5 billion by 2022 has been met. This is impeding the development of new TB diagnostics, drugs and vaccines. WHO continues to lead efforts to advance the tuberculosis vaccination agenda, including with the support of the Tuberculosis Vaccine Accelerator Council launched by the WHO Director-General.
