TB Aid Cuts Endanger Africans Despite Sharp Drop in Deaths, Cases

The African region has seen the steepest decline in global tuberculosis (TB) deaths since 2015, with a 42% reduction in deaths and a 24% drop in cases by 2023, driven by improved detection and treatment efforts, according to the WHO Global TB Report 2024.

Despite this progress, the region has missed key milestones to end TB, with treatment access and funding gaps remaining major challenges. Countries, like South Africa, Mozambique, and Zambia, have already met or exceeded the 2025 WHO End TB Strategy targets, others face significant gaps, particularly in Central and West Africa.

TB treatment imposes a heavy economic burden on households, and funding falls far short with only US$ 0.9 billion of the required US$ 4.5 billion available annually. WHO continues to support countries to reinforce TB control and contribute to global efforts against the disease. There is an urgent need to close the diagnostic gap, increase funding, and widen access to treatment and prevention to meet global targets.

Meanwhile, South African universities’ U.S.-government-funded HIV and TB research grants have been cancelled with immediate effect, and it’s anticipated that more than 300 such grants will be terminated, with major implications for higher education and research institutions. The funding cuts further exacerbate an already existing underfunding for global TB response.