Leading Progress in Ending TB
Each year on March 24, CDC joins the global community to observe World Tuberculosis (TB) Day – an important moment to unite in support, attention, and energy to end TB. Although preventable and treatable, TB remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, taking the lives of 1.6 million people annually. With nearly 11 million people becoming ill with TB in 2021, this disease continues to prove that a threat of TB anywhere is a threat everywhere.
The theme for this year’s observance, ”Yes! We Can End TB,” highlights the determination and enthusiasm of global partners as we join forces to end the global TB epidemic. CDC is on the frontlines in 25 countries with high TB prevalence. Partnering with ministries of health, CDC is sustaining efforts to diagnose, cure, and prevent this disease. On World TB Day, CDC joins our global partners in affirming our commitment to ending TB– creating a safer America and world.
Resources
An overview of the TB burden among children and adolescents and CDC’s response.
Global TB Elimination Champions
CDC recognizes global organizations, individuals, and initiatives that have made significant contributions to ending TB. Click on the drop-down links below for more information on their unique contributions toward eliminating TB.
Success Years in the Making
Through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), CDC is spearheading efforts to address the historical gaps in providing lifesaving TB Preventive Treatment (TPT) to those at increased risk of getting TB– particularly children and people living with HIV.
Each year, in Uganda, nearly 30,000 people living with HIV will develop active TB disease. But there is hope, as a recent CDC analysis of PEPFAR data shows Uganda is stopping the spread of HIV-associated TB by providing lifesaving TPT to people living with HIV. By providing TPT at both HIV and TB clinics and leveraging partnerships with the Ministry of Health, Uganda saw a dramatic increase from less than 1 percent of eligible people receiving TPT in 2016 to nearly 90 percent in 2022. Through this dynamic approach, more people are accessing lifesaving treatment and staying in care, with TPT completion rates more than tripling during the six-year period.
Learn more about these milestones in Emerging Infectious Diseases or listen below as Dr. Deus Lukoye, an epidemiologist at CDC, discusses the impact of TPT among people living with HIV in Uganda.
CDC’s Impact Around the Globe
Learn how CDC and partners are adapting services and expanding key treatment and prevention activities to end TB.
Resources
CDC’s Division of Global HIV & TB offers the following resources, which can be shared across various networks.