Honorable Chair, distinguished Executive Board members, ladies and gentlemen,
The IA2030 Mid-Term Review, presented to this EB, clearly shows that progress under IA2030 is visible across all WHO regions. South-East Asia achieved its highest-ever childhood immunization coverage in 2024, reducing the number of zero-dose children by 27% in a single year. The Western Pacific Region has reached close to 80% coverage of the hepatitis B birth dose, strengthening protection from the very start of life. In the African Region, the introduction and scale-up of malaria vaccines has now reached 24 countries, In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, which includes the world’s last two wild poliovirus-endemic countries, adaptive eradication efforts are making progress toward interrupting transmission, even in complex settings. In the European Region, progress toward cervical cancer elimination has been achieved, with 50 out of 53 countries having introduced HPV vaccination.
Yet, the Mid-Term Review also highlights that progress is uneven, and IA2030 implementation is falling short of its trajectory. Large and disruptive outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases persist, while constrained domestic financing, reduced donor support, and competing priorities threaten programme sustainability. Increasing detections of polioviruses in wastewater in polio-free countries highlight the continued threat of disease re-emergence.
Regions endorse the need for greater prioritization in the face of reduced resources, an increased focus country programme sustainability, and the recalibration of global and regional governance models towards the ‘new normal’. Achieving the IA2030 goals will require renewed political commitment, a sharper focus on zero-dose and under-immunized populations, stronger governance and accountability, and sustained preparation for resilient, equitable immunization systems beyond 2030.
Global efforts have reduced the number of people requiring NTD interventions by 36% since 2010, and 58 countries have eliminated at least one disease. Yet 1.4 billion people still need services, with the South‑East Asia Region accounting for more than half this burden. Progress continues across the globe: the African Region has seen a 37% reduction, with Niger becoming the first country verified to have eliminated onchocerciasis; the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Pacific Regions have reduced their affected populations by over 50%; the South-East Asia Region reduced it by 36%; and nearly half the world remains at risk of dengue.
Global gains include recovering mass treatment coverage, continued medicine donations and new tools such as a prequalified dengue vaccine, but declining financing, supply and diagnostic gaps, and climate change threaten the 2030 targets.
Across all Regions, integrated multi‑disease approaches are accelerating NTD elimination. In South‑East Asia, under a Flagship Priority since 2014, eight countries have eliminated at least one disease, including yaws, kala‑azar, lymphatic filariasis, and leprosy. The Western Pacific has surpassed half its endemic countries by eliminating lymphatic filariasis and trachoma. The Eastern Mediterranean launched a multi‑disease initiative to advance cross‑border elimination. In Africa, 22 countries have achieved at least one elimination, including Niger’s historic verification for onchocerciasis. Through PAHO’s Disease Elimination Initiative, the Americas are pursuing twelve NTDs within a broader agenda tackling over thirty communicable diseases. Collectively, these regional efforts exemplify integrated, equitable action driving progress toward the 2030 targets.
As remaining transmission is concentrated among underserved populations, on behalf of all Regional Directors, I therefore call on the Board to sustain high‑level political commitment, domestic investment, and integrated NTD services under universal health coverage – ensuring no affected community is left behind.
Tuberculosis is the largest cause of mortality globally from a single infectious agent in 2024 and disproportionately affecting vulnerable and underserved populations. The number of people falling ill with tuberculosis reached an estimated 10.7 million, the estimated global number of tuberculosis deaths (including deaths among people with HIV) declined to 1.23 million, and yet close to 2.5 million people with TB missed in 2024. While the political commitment to end TB is unprecedented, we are far off track to achieve the 2030 targets. Drug-resistant TB poses a considerable threat to global health security. Additionally, the sharp decline in development assistance for health, risks reversing hard-won gains and widening inequities.
The TB epidemic is diverse in different WHO Regions. In 2024, the South-East Asia had 34% of the global number of people developing TB, followed by Western Pacific (27%) and African regions (25%). The European Region bears a very high burden of drug-resistant forms of TB, and the Eastern Mediterranean Region is challenged by complex emergencies. The Americas, despite their low TB burden, are the only Region where the incidence continues to rise. The common factors driving the TB epidemic are poverty, hunger, marginalization, and inequities. Nearly half of the TB affected persons and their families suffered from catastrophic costs globally. Therefore, ending TB is a development imperative. Investments in TB lead to stronger health systems that promote universal health coverage and are better prepared for pandemics. Meanwhile, we also need to keep in sight the commitments made at the UN high-level meeting on TB in 2023. To achieve these targets, WHO regional offices, along with partners, are supporting Member States with high-level advocacy for increased investments, multisectoral collaboration, evidence based strategic prioritization, contextualized research and innovation, and reaching out to most vulnerable groups including migrants.
It is opportune time for WHO to embark on post-2030 TB strategy, taking into account the emerging realities, such as conflicts, humanitarian emergencies, migration and climate change. Based on the principles of collaboration and synergy of efforts the new strategy should foster cross-cutting, sustainable integration, and multi-sectoral and multi-disease elimination approaches. The post-2030 strategy should be anchored in transformative primary health care, combining (i) integrated quality frontline services and essential public health functions (including laboratories), (ii) multisectoral action on socio-economic determinants, (iii) empowered people and communities, and (iv) innovations for cost-efficiency and improved access. Inter-regional collaboration needs to be enhanced for shared experiences as well as to address cross-border issues.
WHO regional offices reaffirm their support to Member States for accelerated efforts through a comprehensive approach towards ending TB globally.