Situation critical - that is where the global fight against Tuberculosis (TB) finds itself at the start of 2025. Millions of people around the world are at risk of contracting and dying of a disease which is often misunderstood as a relic of the past but still poses a major threat globally today. In a new video, Stop TB outlines how the international community is mobilizing to fight this deadly disease in spite of low funding and why it is more important than ever finally to eliminate TB
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The video highlights the valuable work the Stop TB Partnership does, coordinating world-wide international governments, civil society, medical practitioners, TB victims and others to fight the disease. Despite its decades-long hold on humanity, TB is today the world’s oldest and deadliest infectious disease. TB is often referred to as an orphan disease: it receives far less attention and resources, and is chronically underfunded in comparison to equally well-known infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Malaria.
“TB is airborne, and this is why nobody can hide from it. People with TB need us. We have to remain strong, and we can never ever give up the fight. Through innovative, global and national efforts and standing together, we will be able to achieve these targets of ensuring TB prevention, treatment, and care are accessible to all,” said Dr Lucica Ditiu, Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership.
With TB yet again crowned the world’s deadliest infectious disease, the Stop TB Partnership is sounding the alarm on this ancient killer disease by urging the countries of the world to start paying attention to this silent killer and provide the necessary resources and investments on the ground in TB high burden countries by investing in healthcare and community interventions to meet the SDG goal of ending TB by 2030.
“Countries' leaders need to take care of the health of their citizens, and we have some leaders in this world that do this exceptionally. With the recent US international aid review, a change in the manner in which health is funded at national level is more critical than ever,” added Dr Ditiu.
In 2023,1.24 million people lost their lives to TB, an entirely treatable and curable disease. TB does not discriminate. While it predominantly targets low-to-middle income countries it can strike in any country around the world. Like COVID-19, TB spreads through droplets in the air making it highly mobile in today’s jet-setting society.
During the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis in September 2023, the world committed to mobilize $22 billion every year for TB care and prevention. So far less than $6 billion has been made available. We can finally put an end to TB. More resources and political will are needed.
The Stop TB Partnership is a unique United Nations-hosted entity based in Geneva, Switzerland, committed to revolutionizing tuberculosis (TB) space to end the disease by 2030. The organization aligns more than 2,000 partners worldwide to promote cross-sectoral collaboration. The Stop TB Partnership’s various teams and initiatives take bold and smart risks to identify, fund and support innovative approaches, ideas, and solutions to ensure the TB community has a voice at the highest political levels and that all TB-affected people have access to affordable, quality, and people-centered care.
