WHO Report: Nigeria, Others Account for 87% of Global Tuberculosis Cases

Korede Abdullah in Lagos

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its Global Tuberculosis Report 2024, revealing that tuberculosis (TB) has likely reclaimed its position as the world’s leading infectious disease killer, surpassing COVID-19.

This disturbing trend is largely attributed to the ongoing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2023, the 30 high TB burden countries, including Nigeria, accounted for a staggering 87% of all estimated incident cases worldwide.

Eight countries – India, Indonesia, China, the Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – bear the brunt of the global TB burden, accounting for more than two-thirds of the total cases. India alone contributes 26% of the global total, followed by Indonesia at 10%.

The global rise in TB incident cases, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic, has slowed and stabilized, with 10.8 million cases reported in 2023.

This represents a minor increase from 10.7 million in 2022, but remains higher than pre-pandemic levels. Most of the increase can be attributed to population growth, with an incidence rate of 134 new cases per 100,000 population in 2023.

TB disproportionately affects men, who account for 55% of those who develop the disease, followed by women at 33%, and children and young adolescents at 12%. Fortunately, the global number of deaths caused by TB fell in 2023, with an estimated 1.25 million deaths, down from 1.32 million in 2022.

Despite progress, the WHO notes that the net reduction in TB incidence rate between 2015 and 2023 was only 8.3%, far short of the 50% reduction target by 2025. However, the African and European regions have made significant strides, with reductions of 24% and 27%, respectively.

“Globally, the net reduction in the TB incidence rate between 2015 and 2023 was 8.3%, far from the WHO End TB Strategy milestone of a 50% reduction by 2025. The WHO African and European regions have made the most progress (reductions of 24% and 27%, respectively); 79 countries achieved reductions of at least 20%.

“The net reduction in the global number of deaths caused by TB between 2015 and 2023 was 23%, almost one third of the way to the WHO End TB Strategy milestone of a 75% reduction by 2025. The WHO African and European regions have made the most progress (reductions of 42% and 38%, respectively); 43 countries achieved reductions of at least 35%.

“Reductions in the number of deaths from TB since 2022 and the slowing increase in the TB incidence rate are the result of substantial post-COVID recovery in TB diagnosis and treatment,” the WHO report said.

To combat TB effectively, the WHO emphasizes the need for collective action, addressing funding shortfalls, catastrophic financial burdens, climate change, conflict, migration, and the urgent need to tackle drug-resistant tuberculosis.