The Union calls for the prioritisation of finding and treating everyone with tuberculosis (TB) in high-burden settings.
24 March 2025
On World TB Day 2025, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) calls on all stakeholders (including multilateral agencies, governments, national and local programmes, non-governmental organisations, academics, civil society, communities and donors) to focus on evidence-based policies and programmes that will break the chain of transmission to end TB in high-burden settings.
Dr Cassandra Kelly-Cirino, Executive Director of The Union, states: “We must be brave and recognise that our current approach is not going to achieve our goals – ending TB by 2030 or 2035.
“It is total injustice and failure by us all that millions of people around the world are still at high risk of TB. There are simply no more excuses for this inequity and suffering from this ancient and preventable disease.”
According to the World Health Organization’s latest Global Tuberculosis Report:
- In 2023, an estimated 10.8 million people fell ill with TB and an estimated 1.25 million deaths worldwide
- Between 2020 and 2023, the TB incidence rate (new cases per 100 000 population per year) is estimated to have increased by 4.6%, reversing declines of about 2% per year between 2010 and 2020.
- Approximately 2.7 million people undiagnosed with the disease or not officially reported to national authorities in 2023.
Dr Kelly-Cirino continues: “While many people in high-income countries believe TB is a disease of the past (because it generally is, in their countries), it is very much present and impacting lives, in most countries of the world. It is an ancient disease that thrives on the kind of instability we are currently seeing due to conflict, political uncertainty and climate change.
“TB is an airborne infectious disease that does not respect borders. We all must play our part in eradicating TB in high-burden settings. TB anywhere is TB everywhere.”
The current difficult funding and geopolitical landscape requires the prioritisation of interventions that will have the most impact on reducing TB incidence rates (i.e. the rate of new TB infections). These interventions already exist – community-wide active case finding linked to effective treatment of people who have TB.
Prof Guy Marks, President of The Union, explains: “In high-burden settings we must prioritise finding and treating everyone with TB. This is the only way to stop more people from being exposed, becoming infected, and infecting others. This is how we to break the chain of transmission and end TB once and for all.
“The effectiveness of this approach to end TB was proven during the latter half of the 20th century in several countries in Europe, North America, east Asia and Oceania, as well as Cuba.”
There is no ignoring the devastating impact the US Government’s decision to cut funding is having on global health and the most vulnerable people in our communities.
Dr Kelly-Cirino concludes: “Now is not the time to cut funding and engagement in the fight against TB – we can do that once the job is done. We urge communities to pressurise their leaders to end TB. In 2025, no one should expect to be at high risk of being infected with TB.
“The Union calls on world leaders and donors to fulfil their commitment to end TB, by significantly investing in breaking the chain of transmission to ensure all their citizens are safe from being infected in the future.”
ENDS
Notes to editor
About The Union
Established in 1920 as the world’s first global health organisation, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) is committed to a healthier world for all, free of tuberculosis and lung disease. Its members, staff, and consultants work in more than 140 countries globally.
The Union is a global membership, technical and scientific organisation, striving to end suffering due to tuberculosis and lung diseases by advancing better prevention and care. It seeks to achieve this by the generation, dissemination, and implementation of knowledge into policy and practice.
The Union’s approach to tackling global health problems is unique – KNOW. SHARE. ACT. We start with developing knowledge through global research (KNOW), which we then share as widely as possible (SHARE) and turn that into the real action to save lives on a local level (ACT).
The Union aims to ensure that no one is left behind, people are treated equally and we have a focus on vulnerable and marginalised populations and communities.
The Union’s work is exemplified by its core values of quality, transparency, accountability, respect, and independence.
Website: www.theunion.org
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