WHO Europe chief urges action on tuberculosis, says funding gaps must ‘never determine fate of millions'

World Health Organization (WHO) Europe Director Hans Kluge on Monday called for intensified global efforts to eliminate tuberculosis (TB), warning that the disease continues to kill one million people every year and is being driven by systemic inequalities and chronic underfunding.

In an address at the Union World Conference on Lung Health in Copenhagen, Kluge said TB remains the world's deadliest infectious disease and urged governments and donors to mobilize greater resources to ensure "financial shortfalls never determine the fate of millions."

"Drug resistance, TB-HIV co-infection, inequitable access to care and underfunding deepen the crisis," he said.

Kluge highlighted recent advances in shorter, safer treatment regimens and rapid diagnostic tools, saying these innovations must be scaled up to reach vulnerable populations.

He stressed that WHO Europe will push for "bold advocacy, relentless pursuit of health equity, and creative resource mobilization" to ensure that no one is left behind in the fight against TB.

The WHO regional director also paid tribute to author and health advocate John Green, who joined him on stage. Green's book Everything Is Tuberculosis underscores that TB persists "not only because of a bacterium, but because of human choices and systemic injustice," Kluge noted.

Kluge said the global health community must "make the right choice and end TB for good," urging countries to strengthen surveillance, expand access to treatment, and address the social determinants that fuel the spread of the disease.