Tuberculosis killed 1.23 million globally in 2024, says WHO

By Helen Oji

Date: 13 November 2025 6:30am WAT

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported that tuberculosis remains the world’s leading infectious killer, claiming an estimated 1.23 million lives globally last year. The WHO also warned that the recent progress made against TB is fragile.

The WHO's annual overview indicates that deaths from tuberculosis decreased by three percent from 2023, and cases dropped by nearly two percent. An estimated 10.7 million people worldwide fell ill with TB in 2024, including 5.8 million men, 3.7 million women, and 1.2 million children.

Tuberculosis is a preventable and curable disease caused by bacteria, which most often affects the lungs. The disease spreads through the air when people with TB cough, sneeze, or spit.

Tereza Kasaeva, head of the WHO department for HIV, TB, hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections, noted that TB cases and deaths are declining "for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic," which disrupted services. Funding for the fight against TB has stagnated since 2020.

In the past year, $5.9 billion was available for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, significantly less than the target of $22 billion annually by 2027. Eight countries accounted for two-thirds of global TB cases last year.