We’re losing ground in the global fight against tuberculosis

Most of us are likely more concerned by diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and dementia, with few realising that tuberculosis (TB) has been the world’s deadliest infectious disease for decades. TB claims over 1 million lives every year, briefly surpassed only by COVID-19. As a result of global efforts, the number of deaths from TB has resumed its slow decline. Prof Hsu Li Yang, Vice-Dean (Global Health) from the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at NUS, and Director of the Asia Centre for Health Security at the same school, remarks that the United States’ recent foreign aid cuts may now threaten to reverse close to three decades of gains.