The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for urgent investment in tuberculosis (TB) care and support services to safeguard millions of lives at risk worldwide.
In a statement issued on Thursday, WHO warned that TB continues to threaten global health, with drastic cuts in health funding jeopardising progress made in combatting the disease.
“On the occasion of World TB Day, marked on March 24, we are reminded that TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious disease, claiming more than 1 million lives annually and causing devastating impacts on families and communities..
“Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 79 million lives since 2000. However, current funding cuts threaten to reverse these gains,” the WHO said”
The WHO further highlighted the worsening situation due to rising drug resistance, particularly in Europe, and ongoing conflicts across the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe, which disproportionately affected the most vulnerable populations.
The theme for this year’s World TB Day, “Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver,” emphasises the urgent need for action, accountability, and continued hope in tackling TB.
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus expressed concern that the substantial gains made in the past 20 years were now at risk.
“Funding cuts are starting to disrupt access to TB prevention, screening, and treatment services.
“But we cannot abandon the commitments made by world leaders at the UN General Assembly just 18 months ago to accelerate the work to end TB.
“WHO is committed to working with all donors, partners, and affected countries to mitigate the impact of funding cuts and find innovative solutions,” he said.
The WHO reported that early data from countries showed severe disruptions in the TB response, especially in high-burden countries.
”The African region is experiencing the greatest impact, followed by countries in the WHO South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions.
“Twenty-seven countries are facing critical breakdowns in their TB response, with consequences such as human resource shortages, severely disrupted diagnostic services, and collapsing data systems.
“Community engagement efforts, including case finding and contact tracing, are deteriorating, leading to delayed diagnoses and increased transmission risks.
”Nine countries are facing TB drug procurement and supply chain failures, which threaten treatment continuity,” Ghebreyesus explained.
Ghebreyesus also highlighted the ongoing underfunding of global TB efforts.
“In 2023, only 26 per cent of the 22 billion dollars needed annually for TB prevention and care was available, leaving a significant funding shortfall.
“TB research is in crisis, with only one-fifth of the 5 billion dollars annual target for research reached in 2022, delaying advancements in diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines.
”To address these challenges, WHO is leading efforts to accelerate TB vaccine development through the TB Vaccine Accelerator Council.
“However, progress remains at risk without immediate financial commitments.”
In response to these urgent challenges, Ghebreyesus and the Civil Society Task Force on Tuberculosis had issued a joint statement calling for immediate, coordinated action from governments, global health leaders, donors, and policymakers.
The statement outlines five critical priorities: Urgently address TB service disruptions and ensure responses match the scale of the crisis.
“Secure sustainable domestic funding to guarantee uninterrupted, equitable access to TB prevention and care.
“Safeguard essential TB services, including access to life-saving drugs, diagnostics, treatment, and social protections.
“Establish or revitalise national collaboration platforms and foster partnerships among civil society, NGOs, donors, and professional societies.
“Enhance monitoring and early warning systems to assess real-time impact and detect disruptions early.”
Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO’s Global Programme on TB and Lung Health, emphasised that the WHO’s call for investment was timely and critical to sustaining global TB progress.
“Investing in the fight against TB is not only a moral imperative but also an economic necessity. Every dollar spent on prevention and treatment yields an estimated 43 dollars in economic returns.
“As part of efforts to combat resource constraints, WHO is working to integrate TB and lung health within primary healthcare systems as a sustainable solution.
“The WHO has also released new technical guidance focused on prevention, early detection, optimised management, and improved patient follow-up.
“This guidance encourages better use of existing health systems to address shared risk factors like overcrowding, tobacco use, undernutrition, and environmental pollutants,” she said.
NAN
