π«
Tuberculosis
Roughly 1.25 million deaths a year β the world's deadliest infectious disease
β Mixed
π©Ί Health
π§ Understand
The trend
Deaths fell for two decades, then COVID disrupted diagnosis and treatment; TB has retaken the title of top infectious killer.
The scale
On the order of 10 million people fall ill and 1.25 million die from TB each year β more than malaria and HIV combined in most recent years. Roughly a quarter of humanity carries latent infection.
Root causes
A bacterium spread through the air, thriving on poverty: crowding, malnutrition, HIV co-infection, and weak health systems. Incomplete treatment breeds drug-resistant strains.
Who suffers most
The poorest households in South and Southeast Asia and Africa; prisoners, miners, and people with HIV. It strikes adults in their working years, so one illness can bankrupt a family.
Common misconception
"TB is a disease of the past." It kills over a million people every year, quietly, in poor places β it is curable with roughly six months of antibiotics costing tens of dollars.
β‘ What actually works
Active case finding + treatment support
Strong evidence
Going out to find undiagnosed cases (X-ray vans, contact tracing) and supporting patients through the full drug course.
Cost & effect: Treatment cures ~85%+ of drug-sensitive cases; finding and treating a case costs on the order of a few hundred dollars and stops onward transmission.
New drug-resistant TB regimens
Promising
Shorter, all-oral regimens (like BPaLM) replacing two years of toxic injections with ~6 months of pills.
Cost & effect: Cure rates jumped to ~90% in trials for drug-resistant TB β a genuine recent breakthrough now scaling.
New TB vaccines (M72 and others)
Promising
The first potentially effective adult TB vaccines in a century, now in late-stage trials.
Cost & effect: If efficacy holds (~50% in phase 2b), modeling suggests millions of lives over coming decades.
π§ Act
πΆ With your money
Fund org types doing active case finding and treatment support in high-burden countries β among the most cost-effective global health work.
β° With your time
Join advocacy pushes around global TB fund replenishments β funding gaps are the binding constraint.
π οΈ With your skills
Data and logistics skills power case-finding programs; lab and clinical skills fit field org types.
π£ With your voice
Simply knowing and saying "TB is still the deadliest infection on Earth" fights the neglect that keeps it that way.
π£ Share this
β Questions people ask
How can I help with tuberculosis?
There's a concrete step for whatever you can offer. With your money, fund org types doing active case finding and treatment support in high-burden countries β among the most cost-effective global health work. With your time, join advocacy pushes around global TB fund replenishments β funding gaps are the binding constraint. With your skills, data and logistics skills power case-finding programs; lab and clinical skills fit field org types. With your voice, simply knowing and saying "TB is still the deadliest infection on Earth" fights the neglect that keeps it that way.
What is the most effective way to reduce tuberculosis?
The approaches with the strongest evidence: Active case finding + treatment support: Going out to find undiagnosed cases (X-ray vans, contact tracing) and supporting patients through the full drug course. Treatment cures ~85%+ of drug-sensitive cases; finding and treating a case costs on the order of a few hundred dollars and stops onward transmission. New drug-resistant TB regimens: Shorter, all-oral regimens (like BPaLM) replacing two years of toxic injections with ~6 months of pills. Cure rates jumped to ~90% in trials for drug-resistant TB β a genuine recent breakthrough now scaling.
Where should I donate to help with tuberculosis?
Impact Compass doesn't name individual charities. The higher-leverage path is to back the interventions that work best here (Active case finding + treatment support, New drug-resistant TB regimens) and to choose organizations by how transparently they deliver them. Compare organization types for this cause with the free tools linked above, or give useful items directly through Givelink.
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Rough figures for context, drawing on: WHO Global TB Report Β· Our World in Data. Approximations, not citations. Last reviewed 2026-07-16.
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