The World Health Organisation said on Wednesday that recent gains made against Tuberculosis were fragile, as Nigeria among seven other countries are driving the global cases higher.

The WHO’s annual overview reported that although deaths from TB were down three per cent from 2023, while cases dropped by nearly two per cent, Tuberculosis remains the world’s leading infectious killer, claiming an estimated 1.23 million lives last year.

An estimated 10.7 million people worldwide fell ill with TB in 2024, including 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 affect the lungs and spreads through the air when people with TB cough, sneeze, or spit.

Pandemic Impact and Progress

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.

However, the fight faces significant threats, as Kasaeva noted, “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.”

Funding for the fight against TB has stagnated since 2020, with only $5.9 billion available last year for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, falling far short of the target of $22 billion annually by 2027.

Global Burden and Nigeria’s Role

Last year, eight countries accounted for two-thirds of global TB cases. These were India (25 per cent), Indonesia (10 per cent), the Philippines (6.8 per cent), China (6.5 per cent), Pakistan (6.3 per cent), Nigeria (4.8 per cent), the Democratic Republic of Congo (3.9 per cent), and Bangladesh (3.6 per cent).

The five major risk factors driving the epidemic are undernutrition, HIV infection, diabetes, smoking, and alcohol use disorders. TB is also the leading killer of people with HIV, with last year’s death toll standing at 150,000.

In positive news, 8.3 million people were newly diagnosed with TB and accessed treatment in 2024, which the WHO attributed to reaching more of the people who fell ill with the disease, marking a record high.

Last year, treatment success rates also rose from 68 per cent to 71 per cent, with the WHO estimating that timely TB treatment has saved 83 million lives since 2000.