Source: WHO warns TB deaths could rise sharply as global funding stalls – CITEZW
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that global Tuberculosis (TB) cases and deaths could surge before 2030 if international funding for the disease does not improve.
In its latest report, WHO provides a comprehensive assessment of the TB epidemic and progress in prevention, diagnosis and treatment at global, regional and country levels. The 2025 edition draws primarily on data submitted annually by national ministries of health. In 2025, 184 countries and areas, representing more than 99% of the world’s population and TB burden, reported their data.
According to the report, progress remains far behind End TB Strategy targets as funding continues to stagnate.
“Despite many gains, global progress levels remain far from meeting the End TB Strategy targets. A major obstacle is global funding for TB, which has stagnated since 2020. In 2024, only US$5.9 billion was available for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, just over a quarter of the US$22 billion annual target set for 2027,” the summary noted.
It further warned that looming cuts to international donor funding from 2025 pose a significant threat. Modelling shows that sustained reductions could lead to up to 2 million additional deaths and 10 million more TB infections between 2025 and 2035.
Global TB research funding is also lagging, reaching only US$1.2 billion in 2023, 24% of the target. However, scientific activity continues to grow: as of August 2025, 63 diagnostic tests were in development and 29 drugs were undergoing clinical trials, compared to just eight in 2015. In addition, 18 vaccine candidates are in clinical trials, including six in Phase 3. WHO continues to steer global vaccine development efforts through the TB Vaccine Accelerator Council.
Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of the WHO Department for HIV, TB, Hepatitis and STIs, urged countries to reinforce political commitment and increase domestic investment to avoid reversing gains made in recent years.
“We are at a defining moment in the fight against TB,” she said. “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.”
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