WHO: Tuberculosis killed over 1 million people last year
The World Health Organization has announced that deaths from tuberculosis have decreased by 3 percent to 1.23 million people in 2024.
In its annual report published on Wednesday, the United Nations health agency also found that overall cases of the disease had fallen by almost 2 percent since 2023, Reuters writes, Dukagjini reports.
Tuberculosis deaths have decreased for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2024, a record 8.3 million people sought treatment for tuberculosis after being newly diagnosed, while treatment success rates increased from 68 to 71 percent, the WHO said.
However, the health agency warned that recent progress in treating the disease was under threat due to a lack of support. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this could “undo hard-won gains”.
Last year, $5.9 billion was available for prevention, diagnosis and treatment, well below the annual target of $22 billion by 2027.
"The decline in the global burden of TB and progress in testing, treatment, social protection and research are all welcome news after years of setbacks, but progress is not victory," the WHO chief said.
"The fact that TB continues to claim over a million lives each year, despite being preventable and curable, is simply unconscionable," Tedros added.
Although tuberculosis deaths in 2024 were 29 percent lower than those recorded in 2015, the WHO had hoped to reduce this figure by 75 percent by 2025 and 90 percent by 2030.
The death toll could even rise in the coming years, warned Tereza Kasaeva, director of the WHO's division for tuberculosis, HIV and related infections.
"Long-term cuts to international donor funding could result in up to 2 million additional deaths and 10 million people becoming ill with TB between 2025 and 2035," Kasaeva said.
The agency was dealt a significant financial blow when the United States withdrew from it in January, forcing a 21 percent cut in its proposed spending.
The decision by US President Donald Trump's administration to cut foreign aid, particularly from the US Agency for International Development, has also raised fears about global TB treatment.
Last year, critical international aid helped prevent 3.65 million deaths from the disease, according to the WHO.
