Funding cuts threatening TB gains, WHO laments

The World Health Organisation said the cuts in global health funding are threatening to reverse efforts against Tuberculosis.

WHO noted that the deadliest infectious disease is responsible for over one million people annually bringing devastating impacts on families and communities.

In a message to commemorate the World TB Day themed, “Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver,” the global health body called for an urgent investment of resources to protect and maintain TB care and support services for people in need across regions and countries.

World TB Day is commemorated on March 24 annually to raise awareness of TB and to mobilise efforts, including political commitment to resources and healthcare financing for TB towards elimination.

“TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious disease, responsible for over one million people annually bringing devastating impacts on families and communities.

“Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 79 million lives since 2000. However, the drastic and abrupt cuts in global health funding happening now are threatening to reverse these gains.

“Rising drug resistance especially across Europe and the ongoing conflicts across the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe, are further exacerbating the situation for the most vulnerable,” it noted.

WHO said the theme for the year highlights a rallying cry for urgency, accountability, and hope.

“The huge gains the world has made against TB over the past 20 years are now at risk as cuts to funding start to disrupt access to services for prevention, screening, and treatment for people with TB,” said the Director-General of WHO, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus

“But we cannot give up on the concrete commitments that world leaders made at the UN General Assembly just 18 months ago to accelerate work to end TB. WHO is committed to working with all donors, partners and affected countries to mitigate the impact of funding cuts and find innovative solutions,” he added.

Speaking further on the threat to global TB efforts, the organisation emphasised that early reports revealed that severe disruptions in the TB response are seen across several of the highest-burden countries following the funding cuts.

It said countries in the WHO African Region are experiencing the greatest impact, followed by countries in the WHO Southeast Asian and Western Pacific Regions.

“Twenty-seven countries are facing crippling breakdowns in their TB response, with devastating consequences, such as human resource shortages undermining service delivery; diagnostic services severely disrupted, delaying detection and treatment; data and surveillance systems collapsing, compromising disease tracking and management; Community engagement efforts, including active case finding, screening, and contact tracing, deteriorating, leading to delayed diagnoses and increased transmission risks.

“Nine countries report failing TB drug procurement and supply chains, jeopardising treatment continuity and patient outcomes.

“The 2025 funding cuts further exacerbate an already existing underfunding for global TB response. In 2023, only 26 per cent of the $22 billion annually needed for TB prevention and care was available, leaving a massive shortfall.

“TB research is in crisis, receiving just one-fifth of the $5 billion annual target in 2022—severely delaying advancements in diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines. WHO is leading efforts to accelerate TB vaccine development through the TB Vaccine Accelerator Council, but progress remains at risk without urgent financial commitments,” it highlighted.

Also, in response to the urgent challenges threatening TB services worldwide, WHO’s Director-General and Civil Society Task Force on Tuberculosis demands immediate, coordinated efforts from governments, global health leaders, donors, and policymakers to prevent further disruptions.

The statement outlined five critical priorities as addressing TB service disruptions urgently, ensuring responses match the crisis’s scale; securing sustainable domestic funding, guaranteeing uninterrupted and equitable access to TB prevention and care; safeguarding essential TB services, including access to life-saving drugs, diagnostics, treatment, and social protections, alongside cross-sector collaboration; establishing or revitalising national collaboration platforms, fostering alliances among civil society, NGOs, donors, and professional societies to tackle challenges; and enhancing monitoring and early warning systems to assess real-time impact and detect disruptions early.

“This urgent call is timely and underscores the necessity of swift, decisive action to sustain global TB progress and prevent setbacks that could cost lives,” the Director of WHO’s Global Programme on TB and Lung Health, Dr Tereza Kasaeva. “Investing in ending TB is not only a moral imperative but also an economic necessity—every dollar spent on prevention and treatment yields an estimated $43 in economic returns.”

As one of the solutions to combating growing resource constraints, WHO said it is driving the integration of TB and lung health within primary healthcare as a sustainable solution.

The organisation called on individuals, communities, societies, donors, and governments, to do their part to end TB.

It also called for an urgent investment of resources to protect and maintain TB care and support services for people in need across regions and countries.