The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Tuberculosis Report 2025 shows that 1.2 million children and young adolescents (aged less than 15 years) fell ill with tuberculosis (TB) in 2024. Children continue to be disproportionately affected by TB, with an estimated 174,300 deaths amongst children in 2024, accounting for 14.2% of all TB deaths. The report shows that a staggering 43% of the children with TB missed diagnosis and could not access treatment, showing no improvement from previous reports. Children with TB face already the widest gaps to care and will be the first and most vulnerable to disruptions in health care services due to global aid funding cuts or uncertainty, as well as conflict and displacement.


Despite this grim reality, we can get closer to reaching the children who are missing out on TB diagnosis and treatment by effectively implementing the WHO guidelines

In 2022, WHO revised its guidance for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of TB in children to be in line with the most recent scientific evidence. Among several important updates, the new WHO guidelines recommend the use of treatment decision algorithms for the diagnosis of TB in children for settings with and without access to Xray. The WHO algorithms are guided scoring systems that allow physicians to initiate TB treatment if the symptoms of the child are strongly indicative of TB disease, even if laboratory tests are unavailable or test results appear negative.

Taking the opportunity of this revised guidance by WHO in 2022, MSF runs the “Test, Avoid, Cure Tuberculosis in Children” TACTiC project since 2023. This unprecedented initiative is supporting MSF health facilities in implementing the new WHO recommendations for TB care in children in over 50 sites across Africa and Asia, mostly in integrated care settings such as nutrition and paediatric services. This World TB Day 2026 (24th March), we are calling all countries and actors for sustainable investments to reduce the number of children dying of TB.