Phl has 3rd highest TB cases worldwide

Eight countries accounted for two-thirds of global tuberculosis cases last year, with the Philippines recording the third highest number of cases, according to the World Health Organization.

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The WHO said Wednesday that TB remains the world’s leading infectious killer, claiming an estimated 1.23 million lives last year, with recent gains made against the disease fragile.

The eight countries are India, which accounted for 25 percent of global TB cases. Indonesia followed with 10 percent; the Philippines (6.8 percent), China (6.5 percent), Pakistan (6.3 percent), Nigeria (4.8 percent), the Democratic Republic of Congo (3.9 percent) and Bangladesh (3.6 percent).

Deaths from TB were down three percent from 2023, while cases dropped by nearly two percent, it said in its annual overview.

An estimated 10.7 million people worldwide fell ill with TB in 2024: 5.8 million men, 3.7 million women and 1.2 million children.

A preventable and curable disease, tuberculosis is caused by bacteria that most often affects the lungs. It spreads through the air when people with TB cough, sneeze or spit.

Now, TB cases and deaths are both declining “for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic,” which disrupted services, said Tereza Kasaeva, head of the WHO department for HIV, TB, hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections.

“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,” she said.

Funding for the fight against TB has stagnated since 2020.

Last year, $5.9 billion was available for prevention, diagnosis and treatment ~ way off the target of $22 billion annually by 2027.

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