The Evolution of TB Vaccination Rates

On April 27 and 28, the World Health Organization (WHO) is hosting the first global Tuberculosis Vaccine Accelerator Forum in Geneva, Switzerland. The forum will bring together health leaders, stakeholders, funders and vaccine development partners to review progress made, from product development through to implementation preparedness for tuberculosis vaccines. As recent data from the WHO shows, the rate of vaccination against tuberculosis has increased in most regions of the world between 2000 and 2024, reaching 88 percent globally.

Progress was made in Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean region, South-East Asia and the Western Pacific, reflecting the strengthening of health systems and the expansion of routine immunization. However, the vaccination rate remained the same in Europe, where 94 percent of babies born in 2024 received the BCG vaccine. In the Americas, the vaccination coverage declined between 2000 and 2024, going from 96 percent to 87 percent.

In 2024, an estimated 10.7 million people fell ill with tuberculosis worldwide, which is equivalent to a 131 incident cases per 100,000 people. Most TB cases in 2024 were in South-East Asia (34 percent), the Western Pacific (27 percent) and Africa (25 percent), with smaller shares in the Eastern Mediterranean (8.6 percent), the Americas (3.3 percent) and Europe (1.9 percent).