Laboratory technician in Indonesia uses GeneXpert to test sputum sample for drug-resistance.

Photo courtesy: Trishanty Rondonuwu/USAID Challenge TB.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the world's leading infectious disease killer, claiming almost 5,000 lives every day. As the lead U.S. Government agency for international TB care efforts, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is working to reach every person with TB, cure those in need of treatment, and prevent new TB infections, as outlined in the U.S. Government Global TB Strategy [PDF, 1.8MB] .

Through World TB Day activities, USAID builds public awareness of TB's global impact. In USAID-supported countries:

• Improving access to high-quality, patient-centered, and affordable diagnostic, treatment, and care services to people affected by TB has led to a 43% decrease in TB prevalence and a 42% decrease in mortality since 2000;
• TB prevention efforts, early and effective diagnosis, and treatment through active case finding and improved infection control helped reach and accurately diagnose more than 3.7 million people with TB in 2015;
• Working with partners and national TB programs to strengthen TB service delivery platforms meant that more than 70,000 patients were able to start treatment for drug-resistant TB in 2015; and
• Accelerating research and innovation for the development and uptake of new, more effective tools and approaches for preventing, detecting, and treating TB has resulted in treatment success rates of 87% and more than 2.8 million people cured.

Join the Conversation

• Follow @USAIDGH and retweet the message! Don't forget to the hashtag #worldTBday
• Watch our Facebook page for updates on progress towards a TB Free World.
• View photos from 2016 World TB Day commemorations around the world.
• What did you do to raise awareness on World TB Day? Send us your story and don't forget to include a picture or video. Check back in the coming weeks to see how others in communities around the world, including our partners, recognized the day.