Tuberculosis Cases Reach Record High of 8.2 Million in 2023 – WHO

By Onoja Baba, Nigeria

The World Health Organization (WHO) has disclosed that 8.2 million people worldwide were diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) in 2023, marking the highest annual increase since global TB tracking began in 1995.

In its recently released *Global Tuberculosis Report 2024*, WHO reported that 10.8 million people fell ill with TB last year, making it the leading cause of death from infectious disease, overtaking COVID-19. The report detailed that 55 percent of the cases were men, 33 percent were women, and 12 percent were children and young adolescents.

Five countries—India, Indonesia, China, the Philippines, and Pakistan—together accounted for 56 percent of the global TB burden. WHO emphasized the urgent need for focused interventions in these regions, especially with the continuing threat of multidrug-resistant TB, which remains a severe public health challenge. The report found that only 44 percent of estimated multidrug-resistant TB cases were diagnosed and treated in 2023.

Despite the escalating impact of TB, funding for TB prevention and care continued to decline. Low- and middle-income countries, which bear 98 percent of the TB burden, faced severe financial constraints. Only $5.7 billion of the $22 billion annual target was available globally in 2023, representing just 26 percent of the required funding.

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus highlighted the urgency of the situation, calling on nations to bolster efforts toward TB prevention, detection, and treatment. “TB can be prevented, detected, and treated with available tools. We must expand tool usage and invest in sustained financial efforts to end TB,” Ghebreyesus stated.

The WHO report urges countries to prioritize TB initiatives to prevent further spread and loss of lives, with a focus on addressing the funding shortfall critical to the development of new TB diagnostics, drugs, and vaccines.