The World Health Organization (WHO) is urgently calling for increased investment in resources to safeguard tuberculosis (TB) care and support services globally. TB remains the world's leading infectious killer, causing over a million deaths annually and devastating families and communities. World TB Day, observed each March 24th, serves as a focal point to advocate for increased action against the disease.

The theme for this year’s World Tuberculosis (TB) Day is "Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver." This campaign is a call for urgency, accountability, and hope in the fight against TB.

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that progress made over the past two decades is at risk due to funding cuts that are disrupting access to critical prevention, screening, and treatment services. He emphasized the need to uphold commitments made by world leaders at the UN General Assembly to accelerate efforts to end TB.

Global efforts have saved an estimated 79 million lives since 2000, but recent funding cuts threaten to reverse these gains. Rising drug resistance, especially in Europe, and conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe are worsening the situation for vulnerable populations.

Early reports indicate severe disruptions in TB response in several high-burden countries following the funding cuts, especially in the WHO African Region, followed by the South-East Asian and Western Pacific Regions. The WHO has identified 27 countries experiencing severe breakdowns in their TB response.

These disruptions include human resource shortages, diagnostic service interruptions, collapsing data and surveillance systems, deteriorating community engagement efforts, and failing TB drug procurement and supply chains in nine countries. The 2025 funding cuts are expected to exacerbate the underfunding for the global TB response. In 2023, only 26% of the $22 billion needed annually for TB prevention and care was available. TB research is also severely underfunded, receiving only one-fifth of the $5 billion annual target in 2022, which delays advancements in diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines.

The WHO is spearheading efforts to accelerate TB vaccine development through the TB Vaccine Accelerator Council, but progress is at risk without urgent financial commitments. The WHO Director-General and the Civil Society Task Force on Tuberculosis have jointly called for immediate, coordinated efforts from governments, global health leaders, donors, and policymakers to prevent further disruptions.

The joint statement outlines five critical priorities: urgently addressing TB service disruptions, securing sustainable domestic funding for TB programs, guaranteeing uninterrupted and equitable access to TB prevention and care, establishing or revitalizing national collaboration platforms, and enhancing monitoring and early warning systems.

Dr. Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO’s Global Programme on TB and Lung Health, stressed the necessity of swift action to sustain global TB progress and prevent setbacks. She stated that investing in ending TB is both a moral and economic imperative, with every dollar spent on prevention and treatment yielding an estimated $43 in economic returns.

To address resource constraints, WHO is promoting the integration of TB and lung health within primary healthcare as a sustainable strategy. This unified approach aims to reinforce the global response and drive lasting improvements in health outcomes.