The 79th World Health Assembly has approved the development of a post-2030 global tuberculosis strategy, with member-states requesting World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus to coordinate consultations ahead of a draft presentation at the 81st World Health Assembly in 2028.
WHO said on Thursday that the proposed strategy would guide the global tuberculosis response using emerging scientific advances and current epidemiological trends, while aligning TB programmes with primary healthcare and universal health coverage priorities.
The agency said the strategy supported preparations for the 2028 United Nations High-Level Meeting on tuberculosis, sustaining political momentum beyond the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals deadline amid inequality, conflict, displacement, underfunding.
According to WHO, expanded tuberculosis treatment saved an estimated 83 million lives between 2000 and 2024, while 2024 recorded the first post-pandemic decline in infections and highest access to tuberculosis services.
WHO warned that tuberculosis remained a leading infectious killer in spite of progress, citing gaps caused by pandemic disruptions, climate-related displacement, inequality, conflict, and underfunding, leaving End TB Strategy and 2030 targets unmet.
