The COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating impact on the fight against tuberculosis (TB), reversing years of progress in providing essential TB services and in reducing the TB disease burden.
In 2020, TB deaths rose for the first time in more than a decade, fueled by a surge in the number of undiagnosed and treated cases. Behind COVID-19, TB was the world’s leading infectious disease killer in 2020.
However, the global response to COVID-19 is proof that we can fight both diseases at the same time. Community health workers, laboratories, diagnostic equipment, disease surveillance systems and other investments in the fight against TB are playing a pivotal role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now is the time to work together to get back on track to end TB as an epidemic and make the world a safer place from infectious disease. Now is the time to fight for what counts.
#WorldTBDay
#FightForWhatCounts
Table of Contents
State of the Fight Against TB
Key Messages
Stories of the Fight
- Maia’s Story: Transforming Drug-Resistant TB Treatment in Georgia (English and Français)
- Dr. Jayanthi Shastri: Protecting Progress in India (English and Français)
- Bangladesh: Fighting TB and COVID-19 Together (English and Français)
Social Media Messages and Multimedia
Data Explorer
Resources:
Every day, over 4,100 people die from tuberculosis and nearly 30,000 people fall ill with TB – despite it being preventable and treatable.
State of the Fight: Tuberculosis
For the first time in the Global Fund’s history, we have seen significant declines in key TB programmatic results compared to the previous year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020:
- The number of people being treated for TB fell by over 1 million.
- The number of people treated for drug-resistant TB dropped by 19%, while treatment for people with extensively drug-resistant TB fell by 37%, compared to 2019.
- The number of HIV-positive TB patients on anti-retroviral treatment while on TB treatment dropped by 16% compared to 2019.
But there are rays of hope. In 2020, 194,000 children in contact with TB patients received preventive therapy in countries where the Global Fund invests, an increase of 13% over 2019.
And despite recent, devastating setbacks, TB deaths have dropped by 21% between 2002 and 2020 in countries where the Global Fund invests.
“... If we are to prevent the severe disruptions caused by COVID-19 from having a devastating long-term impact on the fight against TB we must urgently scale up adaptation and mitigation efforts to regain lost progress.”
Key Messages
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the fight against TB has been devastating, reversing years of progress in providing essential TB services and in reducing the TB disease burden.
Tuberculosis deaths in 2020 rose for the first time in more than a decade, fuelled by a surge in the number of undiagnosed and treated cases, to 1.5 million people – up from 1.4 million in 2019. Behind COVID-19, TB was the world’s leading infectious disease killer in 2020.
Between 2019 and 2020, the number of people treated for TB in the countries where the Global Fund invests dropped by about 1 million, with those treated for drug-resistant TB falling by 19%, and for extensively drug-resistant TB by 37%.
The devastating impact of COVID-19 would have been even worse without the rapid and determined actions that are taking place across the Global Fund partnership to mitigate the disruption to HIV, TB and malaria programs and fight the new pandemic.
Countries are leveraging investments in the fight against TB to combat COVID-19. Community health workers, laboratories, diagnostic equipment, disease surveillance systems and other investments in the fight against TB are playing a pivotal role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the leading international funder of TB programs, the Global Fund is committed to scaling up efforts to find and treat all people with TB, deepen the integration with other services, intensify prevention interventions, address the socioeconomic barriers to care and sharpen the differentiation of services to meet the needs of the most vulnerable communities.
“We have proven that with science, adequate resources and effective global collaboration, we can force even the deadliest diseases into retreat.”
Fight For What Counts: Global Fund Seventh Replenishment Investment Case 2022
Maia’s Story: Transforming Drug-Resistant TB Treatment in Georgia
When Maia Chikovani was diagnosed with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB), she knew she would have to fight the disease while also supporting her family. For Maia, and for many other patients with DR-TB, frequent trips to clinics are time consuming, disruptive, and expensive.
The roll-out of the AdhereTB mobile app, a video-supported treatment app, has made a difference in Maia's life, reducing her trips to the clinic and letting her take her medication at home.
“This application helps because I can do the work I have at home… Without it, I would not even have the job I have now because I would not have the time for it.”
Tweet: Innovation is transforming DR-TB treatment in #Georgia. The roll-out of the AdhereTB video treatment app has made a difference for DR-TB patients like Maia who can reduce their trips to the clinic and take medication at home. #WorldTBDay http://ow.ly/Lj5h50ImppO
Dr. Jayanthi Shastri: Protecting Progress in India
Dr. Jayanthi Shastri leads a team of 53 doctors, paramedics, and support staff at the Nair Hospital microbiology unit in Mumbai, India. Dr. Shastri and her team are on the front lines of the fight against TB, but COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions have disrupted TB diagnosis and treatment enrollment.
Determined to protect the gains made against TB, India is integrating TB and COVID-19 screening programs and laboratory services. Dr. Shastri calls TB and COVID-19 co-testing a game changer.
Tweet: At the Nair Hospital in Mumbai, Dr. Shastri is on the front lines of the fight against TB and COVID-19. Last year, India integrated TB and COVID-19 screenings and services. Dr Shastri calls it a game changer. #WorldTBDay http://ow.ly/Ampn50Impr7
Bangladesh: Fighting TB and COVID-19 Together
When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit Bangladesh, tuberculosis case notifications dropped by 22% between 2019 and 2020, an alarming decrease in one of the world’s 30 high-TB burden countries.
The Global Fund was quick to respond with investments to support the distribution of personal protective equipment for health workers and community volunteers, the integration of COVID-19 messages into TB campaigns, as well as increasing the number of community outreach events.
Bangladesh also used investments to strengthen testing capacity for both TB and COVID-19 by introducing simultaneous TB and COVID-19 testing using GeneXpert diagnostics machines.
Tweet: Bangladesh is using @GlobalFund investments to protect health workers, reach marginalized communities and strengthen testing capacity for both TB and COVID-19 with GeneXpert diagnostics machines. #WorldTBDay http://ow.ly/oscL50Impnn
Multimedia Content and Social Media Messages
Social Media Messages
Tweet: COVID-19 is having a devastating impact on the fight against TB, reversing years of progress. We cannot let that happen. Now is the time to accelerate the fight to #EndTB. Now is the time to #FightForWhatCounts. #WorldTBDay
Tweet: Between 2019 and 2020, the number of people treated for TB in the countries where the @GlobalFund invests dropped by about 1 million people. #COVID19 is having a devastating impact on the fight against TB. We cannot let this happen. #FightForWhatCounts #WorldTBDay
Tweet: COVID-19 has shown us that we can fight #TB and #COVID19 at the same time. Through innovation, integrated services, and accelerated resources, we can fight BOTH diseases to #SaveLives and be prepared for future airborne pandemics. #FightForWhatCounts. #WorldTBDay
Tweet: One person with active, untreated #TB can spread the disease to 10-15 people in one year. As resources are diverted to fight #COVID19, more of these “missing” people go undetected and untreated. Unacceptable! We must #FightForWhatCounts to #LeaveNoOneBehind.
Tweet: Working together we can get back on track to #EndTB as an epidemic and make the world a safer place from infectious disease. #WorldTBDay #FightForWhatCounts
Data Explorer
Explore data on investments and results in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria around the world.
The Global Fund invests in smart, effective health programs to end AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics. The Data Explorer visualizes where our investments come from, where they are and what they achieve by providing pledge and contribution data, grant financial data, and results data at global, regional and country levels.