HealthPress ReleasesSociety

WHO: Global Tuberculosis (TB) Progress At Risk

By George McGregor Share with new partner:   Share
1,320
Nurses at a field site during the repeat national TB prevalence survey in Myanmar in 2018. Photo Credit : WHO/Irwin Law.

GENEVA – Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries were making steady progress in tackling tuberculosis (TB), with a 9% reduction in incidence seen between 2015 and 2019 and a 14% drop in deaths in the same period. High-level political commitments at global and national levels were delivering results. However, a new report from WHO shows that access to TB services remains a challenge, and that global targets for prevention and treatment will likely be missed without urgent action and investments.  

Approximately 1.4 million people died from TB-related illnesses in 2019. Of the estimated 10 million people who developed TB that year, some 3 million were not diagnosed with the disease, or were not officially reported to national authorities.

The situation is even more acute for people with drug-resistant TB. About 465 000 people were newly diagnosed with drug-resistant TB in 2019 and, of these, less than 40% were able to access treatment. There has also been limited progress in scaling up access to treatment to prevent TB.

“Equitable access to quality and timely diagnosis, prevention, treatment and care remains a challenge,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO.  “Accelerated action is urgently needed worldwide if we are to meet our targets by 2022.”

About 14 million people were treated for TB in the period 2018-2019, just over one-third of the way towards the 5-year target (2018-2022) of 40 million, according to the report. Some 6.3 million people started TB preventive treatment in 2018-2019, about one-fifth of the way towards the 5-year target of 30 million.

Funding is a major issue. In 2020, funding for TB prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care reached US$ 6.5 billion, representing only half of the US$ 13 billion target agreed by world leaders in the UN Political Declaration on TB.

The COVID-19 pandemic and TB

Disruptions in services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have led to further setbacks.  In many countries, human, financial and other resources have been reallocated from TB to the COVID-19 response. Data collection and reporting systems have also been negatively impacted.

According to the new report, data collated from over 200 countries has shown significant reductions in TB case notifications, with 25-30% drops reported in 3 high burden countries – India, Indonesia, the Philippines – between January and June 2020 compared to the same 6-month period in 2019. These reductions in case notifications could lead to a dramatic increase in additional TB deaths, according to WHO modelling.

In line with WHO guidance, countries have taken measures to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on essential TB services, including by strengthening infection control. A total of 108 countries – including 21 countries with a high TB burden – have expanded the use of digital technologies to provide remote advice and support.  To reduce the need for visits to health facilities, many countries are encouraging home-based treatment, all-oral treatments for people with drug-resistant TB, provision of TB preventive treatment, and ensuring people with TB maintain an adequate supply of drugs.

“In the face of the pandemic, countries, civil society and other partners have joined forces to ensure that essential services for both TB and COVID-19 are maintained for those in need,” said Dr Tereza Kaseva, Director of WHO’s Global TB Programme. “These efforts are vital to strengthen health systems, ensure health for all, and save lives.”

A recent progress report from the UN Secretary General outlines 10 priority actions for Member States and other stakeholders to close gaps in TB care, financing and research, as well as advance multisectoral action and accountability, including in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

George McGregor

Mr. McGregor is our staff news reporter who focuses primarily on reviewing and editing (if necessary) all media alerts and press releases for The Published Reporter. Media advisories, alerts and press releases can be sent via email to [email protected] and, if approved, will be published free of charge. There is no guarantee your release will be published; inclusion is at the discretion of our editors. We receive hundreds of media advisories and news alerts per day and choose a select few for publication. Please see our editorial guidelines and terms of service.

You Can Flip My Stories On The Flipboard Digital Magazine

Disclaimer (varies based on content, section, category, etc.): Press releases are sent in as newsworthy bulletins aimed at our journalists with hopes they will get published. We receive hundreds per day and choose a select few for publication; those which are deemed beneficial to the public and not outright promotion. They are generally sent in by businesses or organizations about a product launch, new corporate hire, piece of research or situational awareness issue. They may contain forward-looking statements or even hyperbole. For more information on our editorial policies please view our editorial policies and guidelines section in addition to our fact checking policy and most importantly, our terms of service. All links on this site could lead to commissions paid to the publisher. Please see Advertising Disclosure in sidebar.
Subscribe to George McGregor (via RSS) RSS ICON or a specific category with our Feedburner Feeds. Feedburner
Comment via Facebook

Corrections: If you are aware of an inaccuracy or would like to report a correction, we would like to know about it. Please consider sending an email to [email protected] and cite any sources if available. Thank you. (Policy)

You might also like More from author

Comments are closed.