Objective:

The report summarizes global TB burden, diagnosis and treatment coverage, prevention, costs, and funding in 2025, and compares progress with WHO milestones.

Approach:

• Data source: The WHO report drew primarily on annual data submitted by national health ministries. In 2026, 187 countries and areas, representing more than 99% of the world’s population and TB cases, reported information.
• Measures: The report assessed TB incidence and deaths, service coverage, treatment outcomes, financial costs, and funding.

Key Findings:

• An estimated 1.13 million people died from TB in 2025, 4% fewer than in 2024 and 35% fewer than in 2015. This met the mortality milestone originally set for 2020 but missed the 75% reduction target for 2025.
• An estimated 10.6 million people developed TB in 2025. Incidence fell 0.7% from 2024, while the incidence rate declined 1.6% to 129 per 100,000. Incidence was 14% below its 2015 level, short of the 50% reduction milestone.
• The 8.4 million newly diagnosed and reported cases represented 79% of estimated incident cases, leaving a gap of about 2.2 million. Rapid diagnostic tests were used initially for 59% of newly diagnosed patients.
• Of an estimated 370,000 people who developed rifampicin-resistant TB, 155,333 received treatment (42%). Six-month regimens made up 42% of treatment in 2025, up from 18% in 2024. Treatment success was about 70% for rifampicin-resistant TB and 90% for drug-susce…
• A total of 5.2 million people at elevated risk received preventive treatment: 3.7 million household contacts and 1.5 million people living with HIV. Coverage was 26% among household contacts and 60% among people with HIV newly enrolled in ART.
• Thirty high-burden countries accounted for 88% of incident cases. India accounted for about one-quarter of cases and Indonesia for 10%. Men represented 54% of cases, women 35%, and children 11%.
• Across 41 national surveys completed from 2015 to 2025, a pooled average of 47% of people treated for TB and their households faced catastrophic costs, defined as total costs exceeding 20% of annual household income.
• International donor funding across 131 low- and middle-income countries fell 14% in 2025, from $1.1 billion to $940 million in constant 2025 US dollars.

Interpretation:

WHO reported that TB remained the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent worldwide. Mortality and incidence declined, but incidence reduction remained well below the 2025 milestone, alongside gaps in diagnosis, drug-resistant TB treatment, preventive therapy, and funding.

Limitations:

• The estimates and service-coverage figures are based primarily on data submitted by national health ministries; the context does not provide further details on estimation methods or uncertainty.
• The catastrophic-cost estimate is based on 41 national surveys conducted between 2015 and 2025, rather than surveys from all countries.

Sources:

• WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2026 (as described in the provided context)