WHO: Funding needed to support global TB decline

Issue: November 2011

Despite the overall decline in tuberculosis cases each year and a decrease in the number of deaths in the past 10 years, this progress is at risk because of underfunding, WHO officials said during a press conference today. New data on the global TB epidemic were presented with the release of the 2011 Global Tuberculosis Control Report.

“The findings of the 2011 Global Report reflect a significant milestone in global health,” Mario Raviglione, MD, director of WHO’s Stop TB department, said during the conference. “These results offer hope for communities most affected by this infectious killer.”

Raviglione presented key findings of the report:

The number of people infected with TB decreased from 9 million cases in 2005 to 8.8 million in 2010.
TB mortality decreased from 1.8 million in 2003 to 1.4 million in 2010; one-third of deaths are in women.
TB mortality rate decreased by 40% between 1990 and 2010. All regions, except Africa, are on track to achieve a 50% decline in TB mortality by 2015.
In 2009, 87% of treated patients were cured of TB, with 46 million people successfully treated and 7 million lives saved since 1995.

Raviglione said the most significant progress was observed in China. The TB death rate decreased by nearly 80% between 1990 and 2010. Compared with 55,000 deaths in 2010, there were 216,000 deaths in 1990. The prevalence of TB decreased from 215 per 100,000 population to 108 per 100,000 population.

However, about one-third of worldwide estimated TB cases were not reported, according to the report.

“We fear most are detected late and their outcomes are uncertain,” Raviglione said. “Assuring, therefore, quality care for all people with TB, which also implies the strengthening of basic services must be our focus from now on.”

He said this progress is at risk from underfunding, especially for efforts to treat the most dangerous and difficult to treat form of TB — multidrug-resistant TB.

“History teaches that we cannot be complacent about TB,” Raviglione said. “Worldwide, major funding hurdles now need to be overcome. Countries have reported a funding shortfall of $1 billion for TB implementation in 2012. Continued international funding is more critical than ever, especially for the lower-income countries so that they can build and strengthen the measures that will save more lives and protect more people from TB.”

For more information, please visit the WHO website.

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