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World TB Day 2025: Understanding the Disease and How to Combat It
For three years, COVID-19 was the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, causing close to 7 million deaths between 2020 and 2023. In 2023, that title returned to tuberculosis (TB). Every day, nearly 3400 people lose their lives to TB, and almost 30,000 people contract this preventable and curable disease.
TB remains a major health concern around the world – particularly in low-income countries where socio-economic factors like poverty and undernutrition make people more vulnerable to the disease. As Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), puts it: “TB is the definitive disease of deprivation.”
This year, World TB Day’s theme is Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver. Assist360 stands with this bold call for hope, urgency, and accountability. Ending TB requires global commitment, increased funding, and stronger healthcare systems to reach those most at risk.
Together, we can reduce the burden and end the epidemic.
Understanding TB
The disease
TB is a contagious infection primarily caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It’s not considered easily transmittable – only about 5-10% of people infected with TB will get symptoms or develop the disease – but almost a quarter of the global population is estimated to have been infected with TB bacteria.
The problem with TB is multifaceted: it can be difficult to diagnose with symptoms mimicking other infectious diseases; treatment takes long (6 to 9 months of antibiotics); TB germs can remain airborne for long, particularly in poorly ventilated areas; and drug-resistant strains are becoming increasingly common.
The 3 stages of TB
TB has three stages of infection: exposure, latent, and active disease.
- Exposure: The first stage of TB, where immune cells capture the germs. Some may survive, turning into a latent TB infection (LTBI).
- Latent TB: An inactive infection which may have no symptoms but can still become active.
- Active TB: In active TB, germs multiply and cause symptoms, which can appear months or years after initial infection. This stage is contagious, spreading when an infected person coughs or sneezes and releases tiny droplets of germs into the air. If left untreated, active TB can lead to serious health complications.
Common symptoms of TB
Common symptoms of active TB disease include:
- Prolonged cough
- Chest pain
- Weakness
- Fatigue
- Weight loss
- Fever
- Night sweats
The symptoms vary depending on which part of the body is affected, with the lungs being the most common site, but TB can also affect the kidneys, brain, spine, and skin.
TB Treatment
TB is typically treated with a standard six-month course of four antibiotics. Without treatment, the death rate from TB is nearly 50%. However, with the recommended course of anti-TB drugs, about 85% of people with TB can be cured.
If the bacteria do not respond to these drugs, the patient has drug-resistant TB, which requires longer and more complex treatment. Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) was found to affect 11.6% of TB cases and has a lower treatment success rate than typical TB. It is treatable with longer, more individualised drug regimens. MDR-TB often spreads when treatment is mismanaged, interrupted or suddenly stopped, and it can be transmitted from person to person, especially in crowded settings.
TB thrives in overcrowded, poorly ventilated areas with limited healthcare, particularly in the world’s poorest countries.
The TB burden, poverty and conflict
TB is most prevalent in some of the world’s poorest and most unequal countries, where factors like overcrowded and poorly ventilated living conditions, malnutrition, and high rates of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) make people more vulnerable to the disease.
In areas facing unrest and conflict, where Assist360 often operates, the increased socioeconomic deprivation (including malnutrition, destroyed infrastructure, mass migration, poor living conditions and overcrowding) leads to higher tuberculosis incidence rates. Armed conflicts without effective interventions lead to worse tuberculosis treatment outcomes, including lower treatment success, higher rates of loss to follow-up, mortality, and treatment failure.
TB infections also fuel poverty: the economic and human impact of TB is much greater in poor households and nations than in the developed world. High TB incidence in these countries leads to a sick workforce, increased pressure on limited healthcare systems, and stunted economic growth.
According to the WHO, countries with higher levels of social protection have lower TB burden.
What is World TB Day and why is it important?
On 24 March 1882, Dr Robert Koch unveiled the discovery of the bacteria responsible for TB (Mycobacterium tuberculosis), which paved the way towards diagnosing and curing the disease. A century later, in 1982, the global health community designated this day as World TB Day.
World TB Day calls attention to the ongoing challenge TB poses to global health. The disease continues to devastate millions globally, inflicting severe health, social, and economic consequences. World TB Day highlights the importance of continued funding, research, and public health strategies.
It is a call to action for governments, international organisations and NGOs to be proactive in mitigating risks, especially in the areas where TB is most prevalent.
While a quarter of the global population is estimated to have the TB bacteria, only 5-10% of people develop TB disease.
Ending the ‘disease of deprivation’
Global milestones and targets for reductions in TB disease burden are off-track. 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 2025 theme Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver outlines the importance of turning commitments into action through financial investment. It calls for a diversified approach to close gaps in access and fund innovation. Ultimately, the aim is to scale up proven WHO-recommended interventions: early detection, diagnosis, preventive treatment, and high-quality TB care, particularly for drug-resistant TB.
Financial burden is a significant barrier to overcoming TB. 50% of patients have to spend more than 20% of their annual income on diagnosis and treatment. High costs restrict access, which means the disease burden is difficult to shift. Both universal health coverage (UHC) and social protection are vital to curbing the spread and impact of this disease.
Only a unified, multisectoral response can dismantle the key drivers of the TB epidemic – poverty, inequity, undernutrition, comorbidities, stigma, and discrimination – which are all barriers that extend far beyond the health sector.
TB is usually treated with a 6-month course of antibiotics, but if the bacteria are resistant, drug-resistant TB requires longer and more complex treatment.
Together we can #EndTB
While we’ve made significant progress in the fight against TB, much remains to be done. World TB Day 2025 reminds us that tackling TB is not just about medical interventions, but also addressing the social and economic factors that fuel its spread. Reducing poverty, overcrowded living conditions, malnutrition, and lack of access to healthcare requires a unified, multisectoral response.
For the general public, the WHO calls on you to educate yourselves on the causes, symptoms, and prevention of TB, avoid myths and misinformation, and stand against TB-related stigma and discrimination. Those in healthcare, the private sector, governments and other organisations are encouraged to support health workers in delivering essential TB services according to WHO guidelines, and fight stigma and discrimination to ensure everyone feels safe accessing TB care.
Assist360 specialises in operating in complex areas where infectious diseases like TB, along with other health risks, are ongoing concerns. By partnering with Assist360, businesses can ensure their employees and clients are well-covered when travelling to high-risk areas, providing peace of mind through comprehensive medical assistance services. Together, we keep individuals informed, protected, and cared for – wherever they are.
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