Urgent Call to Prioritise Childhood Tuberculosis Amidst Funding Gaps and Service Disruptions
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) has issued a stark warning, urging governments and international donors to intensify their efforts in combating tuberculosis (TB) among children. The organisation highlighted that children continue to be the most vulnerable and disproportionately affected population group by this preventable and treatable disease.
“No child should suffer or die from a disease that is both preventable and treatable,” stated Cathy Hewison, TB platform lead at Médecins Sans Frontières. She emphasized that within an already underfunded global TB response, children have been relegated to the lowest priority. This marginalisation is exacerbated by disruptions to essential services, often caused by cuts in aid, ongoing conflicts, or forced displacement of populations.
Hewison pointed out a critical paradox: “The tools to diagnose and treat children with TB exist, even if imperfect, yet only half of the children who have TB are diagnosed or treated. For a truly global TB response, children cannot remain an afterthought and must be prioritised now.”
The scale of the problem is underscored by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2025 Global TB Report. This report revealed that in 2024, an estimated 1.2 million children and young adolescents under the age of 15 contracted TB. More alarmingly, a staggering 43 per cent of these children missed out on a TB diagnosis and could not access necessary treatment. This statistic has remained alarmingly stagnant in recent years, indicating a persistent failure to reach this vulnerable demographic.
The situation is particularly dire for infants and very young children. For children under five years old suffering from TB, only about half are able to access diagnosis and care. This is a critical age group where early intervention is paramount to prevent severe illness and mortality.
The current global landscape presents a “volatile combination” of challenges. Recent reductions in international financing for TB programmes have led to significant interruptions in TB services. Simultaneously, a record number of people are displaced due to conflicts and other crises, particularly in countries that already bear a high burden of TB. This confluence of factors is projected to lead to an even greater number of children remaining undiagnosed and untreated, further perpetuating the cycle of suffering.
Despite this grim outlook, Médecins Sans Frontières believes that progress is achievable. The organisation stresses the importance of effectively implementing existing WHO guidelines as a crucial step towards reaching children who are currently missing out on diagnosis and treatment.
“Every missed sign and every delayed decision push children with TB closer to severe disease and death,” Médecins Sans Frontières stated. “Greater political will and investments from governments and international donors are urgently needed to ensure lifesaving tools for preventing, diagnosing, and treating TB are available to all children.”
Médecins Sans Frontières teams on the ground frequently encounter children whose TB treatment is significantly delayed. These delays are often attributed to:
- Lack of or inappropriate diagnostic approaches: Healthcare providers may not have access to the right diagnostic tools or may not be employing the most effective methods for children.
- Low index of suspicion: Physicians may not consider TB as a potential diagnosis, especially in younger children where symptoms can be non-specific or mimic other common childhood illnesses.
The organisation’s experience in MSF-supported health facilities offers a glimmer of hope. “Implementation of the WHO algorithms in routine care in MSF-supported health facilities is showing a significant increase in the number of children diagnosed with TB,” they reported. This demonstrates that with dedicated effort and adherence to best practices, diagnostic rates can be improved.
Understanding Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis is a serious, contagious, airborne bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. While it most commonly affects the lungs, TB can spread to other organs in the body.
Key Characteristics of TB:
- Transmission: Primarily spread through the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or speaks, releasing infectious droplets.
- Primary Site of Infection: Lungs (pulmonary TB).
- Potential for Extrapulmonary TB: Can affect other parts of the body, including the lymph nodes, bones, brain, and kidneys.
- Symptoms:
- Chronic cough, which may produce blood or sputum.
- Fever.
- Night sweats.
- Unexplained weight loss.
- Fatigue.
- Treatment: TB is curable with a standard course of multiple antibiotics. Treatment typically lasts for at least six to nine months. It is crucial for patients to complete the entire course of medication to ensure the infection is fully eradicated and to prevent the development of drug-resistant TB.
The fight against childhood TB requires a concerted and intensified global effort. By prioritising children, increasing funding, ensuring consistent service delivery, and effectively implementing established guidelines, the international community can move closer to a future where no child suffers from this curable disease.
