Eight countries, including Nigeria, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, China, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Bangladesh, accounted for 67% of the global tuberculosis (TB) burden in 2024, according to the WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2025 released on Wednesday.
The report described TB as one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, claiming over 1.2 million lives and affecting an estimated 10.7 million people last year. India bore the highest burden, accounting for 25% of global TB cases, followed by Indonesia (10%), the Philippines (6.8%), China (6.5%), Pakistan (6.3%), Nigeria (4.8%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (3.9%), and Bangladesh (3.6%).
Despite advances in diagnosis, treatment, and innovation, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that stagnating funding and inequitable access to care threaten to reverse recent progress.
“Declines in the global burden of TB, and progress in testing, treatment, and research are all welcome news after years of setbacks, but progress is not victory,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“That TB continues to claim over a million lives each year, despite being preventable and curable, is simply unconscionable.”
Between 2023 and 2024, the number of people falling ill with TB declined by nearly 2%, while deaths dropped by 3%, signaling continued recovery of essential health services following COVID-19 disruptions. The African Region recorded a 28% reduction in TB incidence and a 46% decline in deaths between 2015 and 2024, while the European Region achieved 39% and 49% reductions respectively.
In 2024, 87% of new TB cases were concentrated in just 30 countries, underscoring the urgency of accelerating progress in high-burden nations.
The report highlighted notable achievements in TB diagnosis and treatment. Last year, 8.3 million people were newly diagnosed and received treatment, covering about 78% of those who developed the disease. Rapid testing coverage increased from 48% in 2023 to 54% in 2024, while treatment success for drug-susceptible TB remained high at 88%.
Progress was also recorded against drug-resistant TB, with 164,000 people receiving treatment in 2024, and treatment success rising to 71% from 68% in 2023. Preventive treatment reached 5.3 million high-risk individuals, up from 4.7 million the previous year.
WHO estimated that timely treatment has saved 83 million lives globally since 2000, but cautioned that social and economic factors—including poverty, undernutrition, HIV, diabetes, smoking, and alcohol use—continue to fuel the epidemic.
The report also raised concern over funding. Global TB financing reached US$5.9 billion in 2024, barely a quarter of the US$22 billion required annually by 2027. Research funding remains insufficient, with US$1.2 billion allocated in 2023, only 24% of the target.
However, innovation is progressing, with 63 diagnostic tests and 29 drugs in development as of August 2025, compared to just eight drugs in 2015. Eighteen vaccine candidates are in clinical trials, six of which are in Phase 3.
“We are at a defining moment in the fight against TB,” said Dr. Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO’s 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.”
WHO urged governments to maintain strong political will, boost domestic funding, and intensify research efforts to accelerate progress toward ending TB by 2030.
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