Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been ranked among the eight countries with the highest tuberculosis (TB) burden in the world, according to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) latest Global Tuberculosis Report released on Wednesday.
The global health body described TB as one of the deadliest infectious diseases, responsible for more than 1.2 million deaths and an estimated 10.7 million infections in 2024 alone.
According to the report, eight countries—India, Indonesia, the Philippines, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Bangladesh—collectively accounted for 67 per cent of all global TB cases.
India topped the list with about 25 per cent of global infections, followed by Indonesia with 10 per cent, the Philippines with 6.8 per cent, China with 6.5 per cent, Pakistan with 6.3 per cent, Nigeria with 4.8 per cent, the Democratic Republic of the Congo with 3.9 per cent, and Bangladesh with 3.6 per cent.
WHO warned that despite progress in diagnosis and treatment, unequal access to healthcare and limited funding risk reversing the modest gains achieved in recent years.
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“Declines in the global burden of TB, and progress in testing, treatment, and research are all welcome news after years of setbacks, but progress is not victory,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“That TB continues to claim over a million lives each year, despite being preventable and curable, is simply unconscionable.”
The report noted a slight improvement between 2023 and 2024, with new TB infections falling by 2 per cent and deaths dropping by 3 per cent as health systems continue to recover from the disruptions caused by COVID-19.
Some regions have made notable progress, particularly the WHO African Region, which recorded a 28 per cent reduction in TB cases and a 46 per cent decline in deaths since 2015.
In Europe, the situation improved even further, with cases dropping by 39 per cent and deaths by 49 per cent over the same period.
Over 100 countries achieved at least a 20 per cent decline in new TB cases, while 65 nations met the first milestone of the WHO End TB Strategy by cutting TB deaths by more than 35 per cent.
However, the organisation warned that the disease remains deeply entrenched in high-burden nations like Nigeria, where poverty, malnutrition, and weak healthcare systems continue to fuel transmission.
In 2024, 87 per cent of new infections were recorded in just 30 countries, with the top eight — including Nigeria and Congo — responsible for more than two-thirds of global cases.
The WHO report also revealed progress in diagnosis and treatment, with 8.3 million people diagnosed and treated in 2024, representing about 78 per cent of all those who developed the disease that year.
Rapid diagnostic testing coverage increased from 48 per cent in 2023 to 54 per cent in 2024, while treatment success rates for drug-susceptible TB remained high at 88 per cent.
There was also improvement in managing drug-resistant TB, as 164,000 people received treatment in 2024 with a 71 per cent success rate — up from 68 per cent the previous year.
The WHO credited timely intervention and improved access to preventive therapy for saving an estimated 83 million lives globally since 2000.
Despite these successes, the report stressed that social and economic drivers such as undernutrition, HIV, diabetes, smoking, and alcohol use remain key obstacles to eliminating the disease.
“For the first time, WHO has reported on progress toward the social protection target established at the 2023 UN High-Level Meeting on TB,” the report stated.
The data showed glaring inequality, with social protection coverage ranging from 3.1 per cent in Uganda to 94 per cent in Mongolia, while 19 of the 30 high-burden countries remain below 50 per cent.
The WHO warned that the global fight against TB is far from meeting its 2030 targets, mainly due to chronic underfunding.
Global TB financing reached only 5.9 billion dollars in 2024 — just a quarter of the 22 billion dollars required annually by 2027.
The report projected that funding cuts expected from 2025 onwards could result in up to 2 million additional deaths and 10 million new TB infections by 2035.
Research funding has also fallen behind expectations, with only 1.2 billion dollars raised in 2023, amounting to 24 per cent of the global target.
Still, the WHO noted progress in innovation, highlighting 63 new diagnostic tools and 29 drugs currently in development, alongside 18 vaccine candidates in clinical trials, six of which have advanced to Phase 3.
“We are at a defining moment in the fight against TB,” said Dr Tereza Kasaeva, WHO’s Director of the Department for HIV, TB, Hepatitis and STIs.
“Funding cuts and persistent drivers of the epidemic threaten to undo hard-won gains, but with political commitment, sustained investment, and global solidarity, we can turn the tide and end this ancient killer once and for all.”
The WHO called on governments, especially in high-burden countries such as Nigeria, to increase domestic funding, invest in research, and show stronger political will to meet the global target of ending tuberculosis by 2030.
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