The World Health Organisation (WHO) says domestic funding for tuberculosis rose 14 per cent to $5.6 billion between 2024 and 2025, helping sustain essential services despite declining international financing.

WHO stated this in its Global Tuberculosis Report 2026, released on Thursday, highlighting progress in reducing TB infections and deaths despite persistent funding challenges and growing financial pressures worldwide.

The report estimates that 10.6 million people developed TB in 2025, while 1.1 million died, making the disease the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent.

“TB deaths have declined by 35 per cent since 2015, achieving the first mortality milestone of WHO’s End TB Strategy, although five years behind schedule. The treatment has saved an estimated 86 million lives since 2000, while global TB incidence declined by 14 per cent between 2015 and 2025,” it said.

WHO director-general Tedros Ghebreyesus said the continued decline in infections and deaths was encouraging, particularly as countries faced funding cuts and increased domestic investments in essential services.

Mr Ghebreyesus, however, warned that more than one million people still died annually from a preventable and treatable disease, urging governments to expand services and protect essential funding.

He said the report identified 30 countries accounting for 88% of global TB cases in 2025, highlighting the concentration of the disease burden among vulnerable populations.

“TB incidence declined by 30 per cent in the WHO African Region and 42 per cent in Europe between 2015 and 2025, reflecting varying regional progress. South-East Asia recorded an 18 per cent decline, while the Eastern Mediterranean achieved 6.6 per cent, with no net change in the Western Pacific Region.

“However, the Americas recorded a 13 per cent increase above 2015 levels, marking the fifth consecutive year of rising TB incidence across the region,” Mr Ghebreyesus said.

He also highlighted significant gaps in diagnosis, noting that only 8.4 million of the estimated 10.6 million people who developed TB in 2025 were diagnosed globally.

“This leaves approximately 2.2 million people undiagnosed or unreported, while only 59 per cent of newly diagnosed patients received WHO-recommended rapid diagnostic testing.

“Drug-resistant TB remains another major challenge, with only 42 per cent of the estimated 370,000 people who developed rifampicin-resistant TB in 2025 receiving treatment.

“However, uptake of the WHO-recommended six-month treatment regimen among patients receiving care increased from 18 per cent in 2024 to 42 per cent in 2025,” he said.

On research, the WHO chief said global investment stood at $1.2 billion in 2023, representing less than one-quarter of the $5 billion annual target required by 2027.

“It calls for increased investment to accelerate the development and introduction of new TB vaccines, diagnostic tools and effective treatments to strengthen disease control,” he said.

He urged governments and partners to strengthen political commitment, increase sustainable domestic financing and expand access to prevention, rapid diagnosis and effective treatment for affected populations.

“Accelerated action and sustained investment are essential to close existing gaps and put the world back on track towards ending the TB epidemic,” he said.

(NAN)