March 24th is the World TB Day. The WHO has appealed to all countries to urgently resume the TB control service interrupted by the new crown pandemic and provide more funds, resources and information support for TB control and research. The World Health Organization says global TB control has saved 66 million lives since 2000, but the new crown pandemic has reversed the situation. The number of TB deaths in the world has increased for the first time in more than 10 years in 2020. Continuing conflicts in Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East have further aggravated the plight of vulnerable groups. The World Health Organization points out that lack of funds is a major factor affecting global TB control. Global TB prevention, diagnosis and treatment expenditures in 2020 were less than half of the target of $13 billion a year in 2022. Data show that from 2018 to 2020, a total of 20 million people received TB treatment in the world, which was only 50% of the original 2018-2022 year 5 year target number of TB treatment (40 million). In the same period, only 8 million 700 thousand people received TB preventive treatment, only 29% of the 2018-2022 year target (30 million people). During the period of COVID-19, multinational TB control services were disrupted, especially for children and adolescents. In 2020, an estimated 63% of children under 15 years old and children with tuberculosis did not receive or did not report critical TB treatment services. Among children under the age of 5, the proportion is as high as 72%. Almost 2/3 of eligible children under the age of 5 fail to receive TB prevention and treatment. The World Health Organization says the lessons learned from the new crown research are that investment and action need to be promoted to accelerate the development of new tools, especially for the development of new TB vaccines. "We need to provide funds for the development and popularization of the most innovative services and tools in order to prevent, detect and treat TB. This can save millions of lives every year, reduce inequality and avoid huge economic losses. These investments can save health care costs and increase productivity," said the director general of the world Health Organization. Tuberculosis is still one of the deadliest infectious diseases in the world. There are nearly 30 thousand new patients in the world every day, and about 4100 people die of tuberculosis every day. Who calls on individuals, communities, society, donors and the government to contribute to the end of TB. (Xinhua News Agency)