Unitaid/ Gerhard Jörén
© Credits

Intensifying TB research and innovation

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health threat worldwide and remains the world’s top infectious killer. This situation owes much to the neglect of TB research over several decades. Motivating progress in research and innovation to end the TB epidemic by 2030 – as called for by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), WHO End TB Strategy and the UN High-Level Meeting on TB – requires decisive action by all countries and stakeholders.

WHO is driving advocacy for increased TB research and innovation, joining forces with Member States, civil society, and technical and funding partners. To enable scientific collaboration, WHO convenes international expert consultations and national workshops on topics of critical importance.

WHO is supporting the implementation of the  global strategy for TB research and innovation to foster collaboration, improve efficiency and increase financing for research and innovation. The strategy will provide coherence and direction in reaching the targets of the WHO End TB Strategy and the UN High-Level Meeting on TB, ensuring that political commitments and initiatives are exploited to the full.

WHO is also supporting the BRICS TB research network and promoting the use of efficient, life-saving digital health innovations in TB care delivery in countries.

16

candidate vaccines

were in clinical trials as of August 2023

TB Vaccine Research

28

TB drugs

were in clinical trials as of August 2023

Global TB Report

80%

funding shortfall

of the US$ 5 billion needed for research in 2022, only 1 billion was available

Global TB Report

Publications

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Evidence and research gaps identified during development of policy guidelines for tuberculosis, 2nd ed

Achieving the goals and targets of the WHO End TB Strategy requires innovative tools and strategies as well as rapid progress towards universal access....

Consolidated report of country success stories in mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on TB services

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic continues to adversely affect essential TB services in many countries. A first report of case studies was published...

Evidence and research gaps identified during development of policy guidelines for tuberculosis

Achieving the goals and targets of the WHO End TB Strategy requires innovative tools and strategies as well as rapid progress towards universal access....

A Global Strategy for tuberculosis research and innovation

The Global Strategy for Tuberculosis Research and Innovation will support the efforts of governments and other stakeholders to accelerate TB research and innovation,...

Global investments in tuberculosis research and development: past, present and future. A policy paper prepared for the first WHO global ministerial conference on ending tuberculosis in the sustainable development era: a multisectoral response

Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent globally. The present and future threat that TB poses to human health is mainly...

Meeting reports

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Report of the technical consultation on innovative clinical trial designs for evaluating new TB preventive treatments, virtual meeting

The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Tuberculosis Programme, in collaboration with University College London and other partners, convened a virtual...

WHO consultation on the translation of tuberculosis research into global policy guidelines

The Global Tuberculosis Programme of the World Health Organization (WHO/GTB) has the mandate to develop and disseminate evidence-based policy for tuberculosis...

The Global Tuberculosis Programme of the World Health Organization (WHO) convened a virtual technical consultation on “Innovative Clinical Trial...

WHO's Global Tuberculosis Programme (WHO/GTB) and the European Respiratory Society convened a technical meeting on digital innovations, TB and implementation...

The Global TB Programme of the World Health Organization (WHO/GTB), in partnership with the WHO Collaborating Centre in TB Research at McGill University...

On 30-31 July 2019, the WHO convened in Geneva a meeting to generate consensus on the clinical development pathway for the M72/AS01E tuberculosis (TB)...

Tuberculosis (TB) is the deadliest infectious disease in human history and remains the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent globally....

The Global TB Programme of the World Health Organization (WHO) convened a technical consultation on “Advances in Clinical Trial Design for Development...

Although there are a number of challenges to establishing a successful research programs in low/middle income countries, three universal concerns include...

Tuberculosis (TB) and tobacco smoking represent two major, global public health concerns. About 9 million new cases of TB emerge each year and 1.5 million...