The World Health Organization (WHO) sees some progress in the fight against <a href="https://time.news/more-than-364-thousand-deaths-could-have-been-avoided-by-the-health-system-between-2010-and-2019-in-colombia-2024-04-07-095431/” title=”More than 364 thousand deaths could have been avoided by the health system between 2010 and 2019 in Colombia
– 2024-04-07 09:54:31″>tuberculosis. Things still look bad for the goals set for 2030.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), fewer people died of tuberculosis worldwide last year than in the previous year. The number of people who became newly ill rose only slightly. That is encouraging, but the global community’s goals of largely ending the tuberculosis epidemic worldwide by 2030 will not be achieved.
Tuberculosis will most likely have been the most common cause of death from infectious diseases again in 2023, according to the WHO. In the meantime, Covid-19 had taken this rank.
“The report’s important message: If we act consistently, we can end tuberculosis,” said Peter Sands, head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. But more money is needed for testing and treatment programs.
The goal was to reduce deaths by 75 percent from 2015 to 2025. By 2023, the decline was only 23 percent. The frequency – how many people out of 100,000 become newly ill – should fall by 50 percent by 2025. In 2023, however, the value was only 8.3 percent. The best values were achieved by the European region with minus 27 percent and Africa with minus 24 percent. Ukraine is one of the most polluted countries in Europe.
A total of 10.8 million people worldwide became ill with tuberculosis in 2023, after 10.7 million in the previous year. Five countries accounted for more than half of the cases (56 percent): India, Indonesia, China, the Philippines and Pakistan. The number of deaths worldwide fell from 1.32 to 1.25 million.
Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria and predominantly affects the lungs. The bacteria can also spread to other organs and seriously damage them. The disease is contagious because infected people excrete pathogens when they cough and sneeze. According to the WHO, around half of those infected die without treatment. With four to six months of medication therapy, around 85 percent of people can be cured.