Every year, March 24 marks World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, a global call to action to eliminate the world’s deadliest infectious disease. This year’s theme, “Yes, We Can End TB – Commit, Invest, Deliver”, highlights the urgency of increasing funding, strengthening political commitment, and scaling up effective interventions to combat TB.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Eastern Mediterranean Region remains significantly affected, with the region’s 22 countries and territories accounting for 8.7% of global TB cases. In 2023, an estimated 936,000 new TB cases and 86,000 deaths were recorded in the region alone.
Despite TB being curable, its persistence is fueled by low case detection rates, high treatment default rates, and limited access to TB services, particularly among refugees, migrants, and rural populations.
“Every 34 seconds, someone falls ill with tuberculosis, and every six minutes, another life is lost,” said Dr. Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region. “This is not acceptable. TB is a curable disease, yet three in ten cases remain undetected and untreated. We urge governments to take decisive action.”
On World TB Day 2025, WHO is urging governments, health professionals, and communities to: Commit to robust national strategies that prioritize ending TB, invest in domestic funding and international collaboration to strengthen TB programs, and deliver by expanding WHO-recommended interventions, including early detection, preventive treatment, and quality care.
WHO also recommends improving access to TB services in hard-to-reach areas, scaling up screening, diagnosis, and psychosocial support, and focusing on vulnerable populations, including children.
Children Face the Deadliest Gaps in TB Care
Children with tuberculosis face severe gaps in testing, treatment, and access to care, according to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Despite TB being curable, 1.25 million children and young adolescentsdevelop TB each year, yet only half of them are diagnosed and treated. Tragically, a child dies of TB every three minutes.
MSF is particularly concerned about the impact of recent U.S. aid cuts on TB programs, as the U.S. is the largest financial contributor to global TB efforts, funding half of all international TB programs. The cuts have already disrupted community-based TB services in Pakistan, a country with one of the highest TB burdens.
“Children are already highly vulnerable to TB, and the loss of U.S. funding will disproportionately affect them,”said Dr. Ei Hnin Hnin Phyu, an MSF medical coordinator in Pakistan. “We cannot afford to let funding decisions cost children’s lives.”
Children with weakened immune systems, including those with HIV or malnutrition, are at the greatest risk. Additionally, children are often excluded from research trials, limiting their access to new diagnostic tools and treatments. The halt of U.S.-funded TB clinical trials will further set back innovation, delaying much-needed advancements in pediatric TB care.
In response to these challenges, MSF has been implementing the WHO’s updated guidelines for pediatric TB treatment through its Test, Avoid, Cure TB in Children (TACTiC) project across Africa and Asia. Early results have shown significant increases in child TB diagnoses and treatment rates.
MSF, the largest non-governmental provider of TB treatment worldwide, has also played a key role in developing shorter and safer drug-resistant TB treatments through clinical trials such as TB-PRACTECAL, endTB, and endTB-Q. These trials contributed to WHO’s new four-, six-, and nine-month regimens for drug-resistant TB (DR-TB), offering hope for more effective and accessible treatment options.
As World TB Day 2025 is observed, governments, international donors, and pharmaceutical companies must commit to sustained investments in TB care and research, particularly for children and vulnerable populations.
“We urgently call on all countries and donors to step up and ensure sustained TB funding,” said Dr. Cathy Hewison, head of MSF’s TB working group. “No one should die or suffer from this preventable and treatable disease.”
Despite funding setbacks, the message remains clear: Ending TB is possible—but only with global commitment, investment, and action.