Tuberculosis deaths have fallen by 3 percent to 1.23 million people in 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

In its annual TB report published on Wednesday, the United Nations health agency also revealed that overall cases of the disease had dropped by almost 2 percent since 2023.

It marked the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic that TB cases and deaths had declined.

In 2024, a record 8.3 million people accessed TB treatment after being newly diagnosed while treatment success rates rose from 68 to 71 percent, the WHO said.

However, the health agency warned that recent progress in tackling the disease was under threat due to a shortfall in aid. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it could “reverse the hard won gains”.

Last year, $5.9bn was available for prevention, diagnosis and treatment, far below the annual target of $22bn by 2027.

“Declines in the global burden of TB and progress in testing, treatment, social protection and research are all welcome news after years of setbacks, but progress is not victory,” the WHO chief said.

“The fact that TB continues to claim over a million lives each year despite being preventable and curable is simply unconscionable,” Tedros added.

Although TB deaths in 2024 were 29 percent lower than those recorded in 2015, the WHO had hoped to reduce this figure by 75 percent by 2025 and 90 percent by 2030.

The number of deaths could even rise in the years ahead, warned Tereza Kasaeva, director of WHO’s division for tuberculosis, HIV and related infections.

“Long-term cuts to international donor funding could result in up to 2 million additional deaths and 10 million people falling ill with TB between 2025 and 2035,” Kasaeva said.