Progress against TB recovers significantly following COVID-19 disruptions, WHO report says

November 07, 2023

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Key takeaways:

• In 2022, 7.5 million people were diagnosed with TB.
• A total of 1.3 TB-related deaths were reported in 2022, down from 1.4 million in 2021.

The highest ever reported number of tuberculosis diagnoses was reported in 2022, a feat likely due to the recovery of TB services following the COVID-19 pandemic, according to WHO’s 2023 Global TB report.

The annual WHO report showed that 7.5 million people were diagnosed with TB in 2022 — a figure WHO said is the highest recorded since it began global TB monitoring in 1995. Although this number is high, WHO said this increase is attributed to the “recovery of access to health services in many countries.”

WHO.

“We are heartened to see that progress against TB has started to rebound after several years of increased numbers of reported cases and deaths, as documented in the latest Global TB Report from WHO,” Mel Spigelman, MD, president and chief executive officer of the TB Alliance, said in a statement.

The report also showed that, globally, an estimated 10.6 million people were infected with TB in 2022, up from 10.3 million in 2021. The majority of people who developed TB, WHO said, were in the WHO Regions of South-East Asia (46%), Africa (23%) and the Western Pacific (18%), with smaller proportions in the Eastern Mediterranean (8.1%), the Americas (3.1%) and Europe (2.2%).

Additionally, the report outlined that the total number of TB-related deaths was 1.3 million in 2022, down from 1.4 million in 2021. However, during the 2020-2022 period, experts found that COVID-19 disruptions resulted in nearly half a million more deaths from TB, specifically among people with HIV for whom TB remains the leading infectious disease killer.

Spigelman said that although the gains shown through the data in the TB report are an important step, achieving the goals set by the TB community and leaders at the United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB this past September and those outlined in the WHO End TB Strategy will require increased investment.

According to the WHO report, the net decrease in TB-related deaths from 2015 to 2022 was 19%, falling far short of the WHO End TB Strategy goal of a 75% reduction by 2025, whereas the cumulative reduction in the TB incidence rate was 8.7%, also falling short of the WHO End TB Strategy goal of a 50% reduction by 2025.

Additionally, the targets set for 2018-2022 at the first UN High-Level Meeting on TB were not met, with only 84% of the 40 million people targeted for TB treatment reached and 52% of the 30 million people targeted for TB preventive treatment accessing it.

The report showed that funding also remained below targets, with only $5.8 billion invested globally in 2022 and an additional $1 billion for research. During the UN High-Level Meeting on TB, the goal for annual investments in global TB efforts was set for $22 billion by 2027, with an additional $5 billion annually for research.

Spigelman said that with sufficient investment, eradicating TB is possible.

“If we can meet the TB investment goals set by the UN, and if we can secure global commitment and collaboration, we can get back on track to end TB once and for all,” he said.

Other updated targets set at the meeting include reaching 90% of people in need with TB prevention and care services, using a WHO-recommended rapid test as the first method of diagnosing TB, providing a health and social benefit package to all people with TB, and ensuring the availability of at least one new TB vaccine that is safe and effective.

“We have strong commitments with concrete targets made by world leaders in the political declaration of the second UN High-Level Meeting on TB, that provides a strong impetus to accelerate the TB response,” Tereza Kasaeva, MD, PhD, director of WHO’s Global TB Programme, director of WHO’s Global TB Programme, said in a press release.

“This report provides key data and evidence on the status of the TB epidemic and a review of progress, that serves to inform the translation of these targets and commitments into action in countries. We need all hands on deck to make the vision of ending TB a reality,” Kasaeva said.

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