The World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2024 Global Tuberculosis Report highlights that tuberculosis (TB) was the deadliest infectious disease in 2023. Released with participation from health journalists worldwide, the 68-page report provides detailed insights on TB trends and responses across 215 countries, including all 193 WHO member states. It tracks global, regional, and national progress, examining the impact of various factors influencing TB’s spread.
In 2023, TB reclaimed its position as the world’s leading infectious disease killer, following three years when COVID-19 held this position. TB caused nearly twice as many deaths as HIV/AIDS, with an estimated 1.25 million fatalities, including 161,000 among individuals with HIV.
“It is unacceptable that TB still sickens and kills so many people when we have the tools to prevent, detect, and treat it,” stated Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “WHO calls on all countries to fulfil their commitments and expand the use of these tools to end TB.”
Global TB mortality saw a decline in 2023, continuing a trend from 2022. However, TB cases rose slightly to approximately 8.2 million, marking the highest recorded since WHO began monitoring in 1995 and an increase from 7.5 million in 2022. Men accounted for 55% of cases, while women comprised 33%, and children and young adolescents 12%.
Though TB occurs globally, 87% of cases in 2023 were concentrated in 30 high-burden countries, with most new cases reported in Southeast Asia (45%) and Africa (24%). Smaller percentages were in the Western Pacific, Eastern Mediterranean, the Americas, and Europe. Eight countries—India, Indonesia, China, the Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and the Democratic Republic of Congo—accounted for two-thirds of cases.
TB cases are often linked to risk factors like undernutrition, HIV, alcohol use disorders, smoking (especially among men), and diabetes. Since 2000, TB treatment efforts have saved 79 million lives, with the gap between estimated cases and reported diagnoses narrowing from 4 million in 2020 to about 2.7 million in 2023.
Despite this progress, multidrug-resistant TB remains a serious threat. In 2023, 175,923 people were treated for multidrug-resistant or rifampicin-resistant TB (MDR/RR-TB)—just 44% of the estimated 400,000 global cases. Dr. Tereza Kasaeva, director of WHO’s Global TB Program, pointed out that funding for TB prevention and care fell short in 2023, with only $5.7 billion of the $22 billion goal reached, primarily affecting low- and middle-income countries, which bear 98% of the TB burden.
Kasaeva stressed that addressing the funding gap and overcoming challenges such as climate change, conflict, displacement, and antimicrobial resistance is essential. “We must unite across sectors to confront these challenges and boost our efforts,” she said.
Cheri Vincent, Chief of the TB Division at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), added that the U.S. remains the largest bilateral donor, having invested $4.7 billion in TB programs since 2000. USAID’s global TB strategy aims to diagnose and treat 90% of all TB cases by 2030, including drug-resistant TB, and to provide preventive treatment for 30 million people.
Dr. Cassandra Kelly-Cirino, executive director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, responded to the report with a call for more action: “Despite progress, we are falling short of our goal to end TB. We’re only diagnosing 48% of the people needed to reach our 90% target. This is unacceptable.”
Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, echoed these concerns, emphasizing that “if we act decisively, we can end TB.” He urged increased funding and the removal of barriers that prevent access to necessary services, calling for political commitment to confront the dual threats of conflict and climate change that exacerbate TB’s global impact.
