Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 79 million lives since 2000. However, the drastic and abrupt cuts in global health funding happening now are threatening to reverse these gains. Rising drug resistance especially across Europe and the ongoing conflicts across the Middle-East, Africa and Eastern Europe, are further exacerbating the situation for the most vulnerable.
Early reports to WHO reveal that severe disruptions in the TB response are seen across several of the highest-burden countries following the funding cuts. Countries in the WHO African Region are experiencing the greatest impact, followed by countries in the WHO South-East Asian and Western Pacific Regions. Twenty seven countries are facing crippling breakdowns in their TB response, with devastating consequences, such as:
Human resource shortages undermining service delivery;Diagnostic services severely disrupted, delaying detection and treatment;Data and surveillance systems collapsing, compromising disease tracking and management;Community engagement efforts, including active case finding, screening, and contact tracing, deteriorating, leading to delayed diagnoses and increased transmission risks.The 2025 funding cuts further exacerbate an already existing underfunding for global TB response. In 2023, only 26% of the US$22 billion annually needed for TB prevention and care was available, leaving a massive shortfall. TB research is in crisis, receiving just one-fifth of the US$5 billion annual target in 2022—severely delaying advancements in diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines. WHO is leading efforts to accelerate TB vaccine development through the TB Vaccine Accelerator Council, but progress remains at risk without urgent financial commitments.
Joint statement with civil society
Addressing TB service disruptions urgently, ensuring responses match the crisis's scale;Securing sustainable domestic funding, guaranteeing uninterrupted and equitable access to TB prevention and care;Safeguarding essential TB services, including access to life-saving drugs, diagnostics, treatment and social protections, alongside cross-sector collaboration;Establishing or revitalizing national collaboration platforms, fostering alliances among civil society, NGOs, donors, and professional societies to tackle challenges;Enhancing monitoring and early warning systems to assess real-time impact and detect disruptions early.
“This urgent call is timely and underscores the necessity of swift, decisive action to sustain global TB progress and prevent setbacks that could cost lives,” said Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO’s Global Programme on TB and Lung Health. “Investing in ending TB is not only a moral imperative but also an economic necessity—every dollar spent on prevention and treatment yields an estimated US$43 in economic returns.”
New guidance on TB and lung health
By tackling TB determinants alongside communicable and non-communicable diseases, lung conditions, and disabilities through a unified strategy, WHO aims to reinforce the global response and drive lasting improvements in health outcomes.
On World TB Day, WHO calls on everyone: individuals, communities, societies, donors and governments, to do their part to end TB. Without concerted action from all stakeholders, the TB response will be decimated, reversing decades of progress, putting millions of lives at risk and threatening health security.
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