World Tuberculosis Day 2026

What is the World Tuberculosis Day?

Each year, WHO commemorates World Tuberculosis (TB) Day on March 24 to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of TB, and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic. The date marks the day in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB, which opened the way towards diagnosing and curing this disease.

Tuberculosis remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious killers. 1.23 million people died of TB in 2024 and 10.7 million people fell ill with TB in 2024. Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 83 million lives since the year 2000.

World tuberculosis day 2025 — World tuberculosis day 2026

What is this years theme?

The theme of World TB Day 2026 – ‘Yes! We Can End TB: Led by countries. Powered by people.’ highlights a strong call to action and a message of optimism, emphasizing that reversing the TB epidemic is still within reach despite today’s global challenges. It underscores that with committed national leadership, greater domestic and international funding, swift adoption of new WHO guidelines and innovations, intensified efforts, and robust collaboration across sectors, ending TB is not merely an ambition but a realistic and attainable goal.

Theme World Tuberculosis Day 2026:

Yes! We Can End TB: Led by countries. Powered by people.

Key Facts:

Prioritize TB funding as a policy decision: Allocating resources to TB control should be seen as a deliberate policy choice, as it yields substantial public health benefits while also supporting economic stability and stronger health systems.

Speed up the use of new tools and approaches: Innovations in diagnostics, treatment, and care need to be introduced and expanded quickly to ensure people benefit from advances without delay.

Sustain progress already achieved: Gains made in the fight against TB must be protected by maintaining commitment and resources, particularly in the face of competing global challenges.

Tackle TB to reinforce health resilience: Reducing the burden of TB plays an important role in building more robust health systems that are better prepared to respond to current and future threats.

Engage all sectors in the response: Addressing TB effectively requires collaboration across multiple areas of society, including those that influence living conditions and broader determinants of health.

Ensure care is centred around people’s needs: TB services should be designed to be inclusive, respectful, and accessible, enabling individuals and communities to receive care that is responsive and free from stigma.

More information about tuberculosis:

TB is caused by the bacillus Mycobacteria tuberculosis which is spread when people sick with TB expel bacteria into the air; for example, by coughing. TB typically affects the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body.
About a quarter of the world’s population is infected with M. tuberculosis and thus at risk of developing TB disease.
TB is also the primary cause of death among people living with HIV and remains a significant driver of antimicrobial resistance.
Most of the people who fall ill with TB live in low- and middle-income countries, but TB is present all over the world. About half of all people with TB can be found in 8 countries: Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines and South Africa.
Drug-resistant forms of TB are a major contributor to deaths from antimicrobial resistance globally. In 2019, about 0.5 million people fell ill with drug-resistant TB.
Although 83 million lives have been saved since 2000, the pace of progress is slow, and actions and investments fall far short of those needed to end the TB epidemic.
Tuberculosis commonly presents with a persistent cough lasting several weeks, often accompanied by fever, night sweats, weight loss, and fatigue.
Treatment involves a course of multiple antibiotics taken over several months, which can successfully cure the disease when completed as prescribed.

Implementing the end TB strategy: the essentials, 2022 update

Implementing the End TB Strategy: The Essentials 2022 is a comprehensive compendium of essential published guidelines, policies and resources which describe the actions needed at national level to achieve the ambitious global
goal of ending the TB epidemic by fully implementing the World Health Organization’s End TB Strategy.

The compendium summarizes and updates the 2015 version, Implementing the End TB Strategy: The Essentials and collects all new and available guidance in one publication. Intended as a resource for national TB programmes (NTP’s) and all stakeholders engaged in TB care and prevention, it emphasizes the need to prepare detailed national operational guidance on the implementation of the End TB Strategy to meet the needs of individual countries and diverse stakeholders. This is a “living document” and will be updated as more resources and guidelines are developed or revised.

Download the strategy document as PDF: