Tuberculosis (TB) is a preventable and curable disease, yet in 2024 it likely became the world’s leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, causing nearly twice as many deaths as HIV/AIDS. Over 10 million people continue to fall ill with TB annually, with numbers rising since 2021.
Urgent action is needed to end the global TB epidemic by 2030—a goal adopted by all United Nations (UN) Member States and the World Health Organization (WHO). Africa remains at the forefront of the global tuberculosis (TB) challenge, accounting for nearly a quarter of all new TB cases worldwide in 2024—second only to South-East Asia. Southern Africa Development Community Member States (Angola, Botswana, Comoros, DRC, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe) collectively bear a disproportionately high share of Africa’s TB burden.
