At least 70 percent of tuberculosis (TB) cases in Africa are now being diagnosed and treated, marking the highest case-detection rate in the region ever, thanks to concerted efforts by countries to address the threat of the disease. Although the case detection rate has been on the rise since 2018, the region saw a significant increase between 2020 and 2022, rising from 60 per cent to 70 percent of cases being detected, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Tuberculosis Report 2023. There has also been a notable reduction in the region in the number of people with TB who misdiagnosis.

An estimated 700,000 people missed diagnosis in 2022, a 10 per cent reduction compared with 2021. To further rally efforts to end the disease through concerted global efforts to advance detection, diagnosis and treatment, World TB Day is being marked this year under the theme; ‘Yes! We can end TB’.

In the African region a range of factors have helped boost TB diagnosis rates during the COVID-19 pandemic period, many countries maintained TB notification services, ensuring that cases were detected and treated.