Calls for Increase In TB Funding and Focus on Saving Lives
The Stop TB Partnership has said that it notes with concern the data released by the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of the 2021 Global Tuberculosis Report, which features data on disease trends and the response to the epidemic from over 200 countries and areas.
For the first time in more than 10 years, the number of deaths due to tuberculosis (TB) has increased, from 1.4 million deaths in 2019 to 1.5 million deaths in 2020, largely due to the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on TB care, including testing services.
Timely and accurate diagnosis of TB, followed by provision of the most effective treatment, prevents death, limits illness in people who develop TB and reduces further transmission of TB.
According to WHO, the number of people newly diagnosed with TB and reported to national governments dropped from 7.1 million in 2019 to only 5.8 million in 2020. This alarming reduction in TB case detection and reporting reflects both supply and demand-side disruptions to TB testing services, says MSF.