Overview

• Each year, the WHO Global TB Report provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the TB epidemic anf progress in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease at global, regional, and country levels. This is done in the context of global TB commitments, strategies, and targets.

• About 85% of people who develop TB disease can be successfully treated with a 6-month drug regimen, and regimens of 1–6 months can be used to treat TB infection. Universal health coverage (UHC) is necessary to ensure that all those with disease or infection can access these treatments.

• The number of people acquiring infection and developing disease (and thus the number of deaths caused by TB) can also be reduced through multisectoral action to address TB determinants such as poverty, undernutrition, HIV infection, smoking, and diabetes. Some countries have already reduced their burden of TB disease to fewer than 10 cases and less than 1 death per 100 000 population per year. Research breakthroughs (e.g., a new vaccine) are needed to rapidly reduce the number of new cases each year (TB incidence) worldwide to the levels already achieved in these low-burden countries.

 

Reduced access to TB diagnosis and treatment has resulted in an increase in TB deaths. The best estimates for 2020 are 1.3 million TB deaths among HIV-negative people (up from 1.2 million in 2019) and an additional 214000 among HIV-positive people (up from 209 000 in 2019), with the combined total back to the level of 2017. Declines in TB incidence (the number of people developing TB each year) achieved in previous years have slowed almost to a halt. These impacts are forecast to be much worse in 2021 and 2022.