The World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed that tuberculosis (TB) claimed an estimated 1.23 million lives globally in 2024, maintaining its position as the world’s deadliest infectious disease despite modest progress in reducing deaths and infections.
According to the 2025 Global Tuberculosis Report released on Wednesday, global TB deaths fell by three per cent compared to 2023, while new infections dropped by nearly two per cent.
The WHO, however, warned that the fragile progress made in recent years could be undermined by funding shortfalls, weak health systems, and persistent socio-economic inequalities.
“Funding cuts and the ongoing drivers of the epidemic threaten to undo hard-won progress,” said Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO’s Department for HIV, TB, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections. “With political commitment, sustained investment, and global solidarity, we can end this ancient killer once and for all.”
The report estimated that 10.7 million people worldwide contracted TB in 2024, comprising 5.8 million men, 3.7 million women, and 1.2 million children. Tuberculosis, a preventable and curable disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, primarily affects the lungs and spreads through the air when people with active TB cough, sneeze, or spit.
For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted TB services, both infections and deaths are showing signs of decline, the WHO said, describing the trend as a positive but fragile turning point in the global fight against the disease.
Eight countries accounted for nearly two-thirds of global TB cases last year, with India leading the list at 25%, followed by Indonesia (10%), the Philippines (6.8%), China (6.5%), Pakistan (6.3%), Nigeria (4.8%), the Democratic Republic of Congo (3.9%), and Bangladesh (3.6%).
The report identified undernutrition, HIV infection, diabetes, smoking, and alcohol use disorders as the major risk factors driving new TB infections worldwide. It also noted that TB remains the leading killer of people living with HIV, accounting for about 150,000 deaths in 2024.
Despite some encouraging gains, the WHO warned that funding for the global TB response remains dangerously low. Only $5.9 billion was available in 2024 for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment — far short of the $22 billion annual target required by 2027.
The organisation said that chronic underfunding has weakened health systems’ ability to expand diagnostic coverage, provide new treatment regimens, and develop more effective vaccines.
On a more positive note, WHO said that 8.3 million people were newly diagnosed with TB and placed on treatment in 2024 — the highest annual figure ever recorded. Treatment success rates also improved slightly, rising from 68 per cent to 71 per cent.
Since 2000, the global TB response has saved an estimated 83 million lives through improved treatment access and early diagnosis, according to WHO data. However, experts warned that without sustained political and financial commitment, these gains could easily be reversed.
The WHO urged governments, donor agencies, and partners to scale up interventions, strengthen healthcare systems, and ensure that vulnerable populations — including children, people living with HIV, and those in conflict zones — have access to diagnosis and treatment.
“Ending TB is possible,” Dr Kasaeva added, “but it requires a renewed global commitment to equity, innovation, and sustained financing. Every life lost to tuberculosis is one too many.”
