In 2023, tuberculosis (TB) surpassed COVID-19 as the top cause of infectious disease-related deaths, underscoring the need for urgent action to eradicate the disease, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report released on Tuesday. This shift highlights persistent challenges in the global fight against TB, including substantial funding gaps and healthcare access issues in low- and middle-income countries.
Rise in TB Diagnoses Indicates Growing Crisis
The report showed a rise in TB diagnoses, with 8.2 million new cases identified last year – the highest recorded since WHO began monitoring TB globally in 1995, marking an increase from 7.5 million cases in 2022. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized that TB’s high mortality and morbidity rate remains “an outrage” given the existing tools available to prevent, detect, and treat the disease effectively.
Despite a slight decline in TB-related deaths to 1.25 million in 2023 from 1.32 million in 2022, the total number of people infected climbed to an estimated 10.8 million. Global efforts to reduce TB remain off-track, and considerable progress is required to meet the targets set for 2027, according to the report. Dr. Tedros called on international stakeholders to address the gap between reported and actual cases, which narrowed to 2.7 million in 2023, down from the 4 million unreported cases seen during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
Low- and middle-income countries, which bear 98% of the TB burden, are especially impacted by significant funding shortages. The WHO also noted that the multidrug-resistant strain of TB continues to pose a public health crisis, complicating treatment efforts worldwide.
With renewed focus on TB eradication, WHO officials underscored the importance of bridging funding gaps and strengthening healthcare systems to curb the spread of this resilient and life-threatening disease.
