The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported an increase in domestic investment in tuberculosis (TB) programmes, with countries raising funding by 14% to US$5.6 billion between 2024 and 2025. The increase comes amid declining international financing, as governments step up efforts to protect progress against the disease, according to the WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2026.
The report estimates that 10.6 million people developed TB in 2025, while 1.1 million died from the disease. Although TB deaths have fallen by 35% since 2015, the global incidence rate has declined by only 14%, falling short of the 50% reduction target set for 2025 under WHO’s End TB Strategy.
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The burden remains concentrated in 30 countries, which accounted for 88% of global TB cases in 2025. Progress also varied across regions, with the African Region recording a 30% decline in incidence since 2015, while the Eastern Mediterranean Region saw a reduction of just 6.6%. The Americas recorded a 13% increase compared with 2015.
Access to diagnosis and treatment remains a major concern. Of the estimated cases in 2025, 8.4 million were diagnosed, leaving approximately 2.2 million undiagnosed or un
“The continued decline in TB cases and deaths is very encouraging, especially given the challenges many countries have faced from funding cuts,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Many governments have dug deeper into their own budgets to protect the gains they have made. And yet, more than one million people still die each year from a disease that is preventable and treatable. We urge countries and partners to urgently expand access to TB services, protect essential funding and accelerate the development of new tools to end this epidemic.”
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