[CIDRAP] TB Costs in Poor Countries Exceed Those of HIV, Estimates Suggest

4 May 2026

CIDRAP news story

Active cases of TB cost low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with heavy TB burdens $3.5 billion more in current annual and future lost earnings and medical expenses than HIV, yet receives substantially less funding, researchers in Peru and the United States write in a new study published in BMJ Global Health.

The researchers used a model to estimate the economic costs of TB and HIV to households and the economy, including factors such as the effects of parental disability or death on children’s future earnings, in 25 LMICs. The analysis was based on data from sources such as the World Health Organization Global TB Report, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s Global Burden of Disease dataset, and Demographic Household Surveys.

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Source: CIDRAP