…urges urgent action
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that cuts in global health funding are threatening to reverse decades of progress in the fight against tuberculosis (TB), raising the risk of rising infections and deaths.
The Agency, in a statement to mark thr world TB day, said the gains that had saved estimated 83 million lives since 2000, are now at risk, as financial constraints weaken access to essential testing and treatment services.
Tuberculosis remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, killing more than 3,300 people daily and infecting over 29,000, despite being preventable and curable, according to WHO.
Nigeria remains the country with the highest TB burden in Africa and ranks sixth globally, with an incidence rate of 219 cases per 100,000 population, accounting for about 20% of Africa’s TB burden.
The WHO said funding shortfalls are already straining national TB programmes, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where reliance on donor support remains high and health systems are vulnerable to external shocks.
Tereza Kasaeva, Director of the WHO’s Department for HIV, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections, disclosed that investment in TB remains significantly below the roughly $5 billion needed annually for research, warning that gaps in funding continue to limit the development of new tools and treatments.
Without urgent action, the Agency warned, progress towards global TB targets could stall or reverse, with delayed diagnosis and treatment likely to drive further transmission.
Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, called on governments to prioritise TB within broader health and financing strategies.
The warning came as the WHO unveiled new guidelines aimed at improving how TB is detected, particularly in underserved settings where access to timely diagnosis remains limited.
The Agency is recommending the rollout of portable, near point-of-care diagnostic tools that can deliver results in under an hour and operate in facilities with limited infrastructure, reducing dependence on centralised laboratories.
It also endorsed the use of tongue swabs to expand testing among patients unable to produce sputum, as well as sputum pooling strategies to cut costs and improve efficiency in resource-constrained environments.
It noted that uptake of rapid diagnostic tools had been slow in many countries due to cost barriers and logistical challenges, constraints that could worsen as global health funding tightens.
The WHO said strengthening community-based care, expanding testing access and sustaining investment would be critical to preventing a reversal of progress.
The Agency urged governments to treat TB as a central pillar of health security, cautioning that failure to act decisively could lead to renewed transmission and avoidable deaths.
