Pandemic sets back global fight against tuberculosis by a decade

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, said the WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2021 confirmed fears the pandemic could 'unravel years of progress against tuberculosis'. File picture: Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP

Global tuberculosis (TB) deaths have risen for the first time in more than a decade, according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) report.

The WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2021 highlights the significant role of the Covid-19 pandemic in setting back the fight against TB by several years.

About 1.5m people died from TB in 2020, which sets progress on fighting the epidemic back to 2017 levels.

There was also a large global fall in the number of people newly diagnosed with TB, falling from 7.1m in 2019 to 5.8m in 2020, an 18% decline, back to the level of 2012.

The WHO estimates 4.1m people currently suffer from the disease but have not been diagnosed or have not officially reported to national authorities, up from 2.9m in 2019.

The WHO attributes the reversal of progress to a dual effect of the pandemic – disruption in access to TB services and a reduction in resources as the world reallocated resources to the Covid-19 response, as well as people struggling to seek care in the context of lockdowns.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO, said the 2021 report confirmed fears the pandemic could “unravel years of progress against tuberculosis”. 

“If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that health is a human right, not a luxury for those who can afford it. With solidarity, determination and the equitable use of tools, we will defeat Covid-19. And with the same solidarity, determination and equitable use of tools, we can end TB,” he said.

Deadliest infectious killer after Covid-19

TB is the deadliest infectious killer after Covid-19, and is caused by bacteria that most often affect the lungs. Its impacts are felt most severely in 30 low- and middle-income countries that account for 90% of global cases.

The trend continues to be a downward one in Ireland. The WHO estimates 260 instances of TB here in 2020, most often caused by alcohol use disorders and smoking, with the majority of cases amongst 25-34 year-olds.

In 2014 and 2015, all member states of WHO and the UN adopted the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and WHO’s End TB Strategy. Both include targets and milestones for the fight against TB. 

In September 2018, the UN General Assembly held its first-ever high-level meeting on TB, where those commitments were reaffirmed.

Globally, the reduction in the number of TB deaths between 2015 and 2020 was only 9.2% – about one quarter of the way to the 2020 milestone of 35%. The number of people falling ill with TB each year dropped 11% from 2015 to 2020, just over half-way to the 2020 milestone of 20%.

“We have just one year left to reach the historic 2022 TB targets committed by heads of state at the first UN High Level Meeting on TB. The report provides important information and a strong reminder to countries to urgently fast-track their TB responses and save lives,” said Dr Tereza Kasaeva, director of WHO’s Global TB Programme.