In 2024, at least 122 million people were forced from their homes by conflict, violence and persecution worldwide. Among them, nearly 470,000 people fled Sudan’s ongoing war to find safety in South Sudan. And over 315,000 Afghans returned from Pakistan as the region’s displacement crisis continued.
Families arrive needing basic services, often facing malnutrition and crowded housing that increase vulnerability to tuberculosis (TB), the world’s deadliest infectious disease. UNDP and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria are supporting TB health services for people on the move, ensuring no one is left undiagnosed and untreated.
We are relieved to be back and are working on settling into our new life.”
– Mujahid, Afghan returnee from Pakistan
“We have seen a huge number of people coming to HIV and TB health facilities. Most come malnourished or when they have pneumonia,” said Dr. Anwar Zacharia Marjan, Unity State, South Sudan.
Dr. Marjan leads the Bentiu office at Cordaid, a UNDP partner providing TB services with the Ministry of Health to refugees and communities near South Sudan’s northern border. The influx of people from Sudan exacerbates challenges created by record-breaking floods since 2021, which have forced health centres to higher ground and blocked access to essential health services.
“In Koch County, four out of five facilities that we support have been submerged in water. We are now using canoes to reach health facilities,” Dr. Marjan added.
Amidst the flood waters and displacement, community programmes are essential to identifying people who may have TB and connecting them to services. UNDP supports Mentor Mothers and the government’s Boma Health Initiative, which deploy over 2,000 peer educators and frontline workers to refer people for TB testing and treatment.
“Daily, we have more than 20 people with suspected TB at each facility. Out of the 20, four or five may test positive for TB. Mentor Mothers follow up at people’s homes to ensure they adhere to treatment,” said Sarah Auma Ochieng, Cordaid’s HIV/TB zonal supervisor in Unity State.
In 2023, nearly 25,000 people were diagnosed with TB in South Sudan. Frontline workers helped ensure 92 percent received treatment, contributing to a 20 percent decline in deaths since 2013.
Besides community outreach, bringing health services directly to border crossings provides more displaced people with essential care. In Torkham, eastern Afghanistan, UNDP is scaling up TB screening and testing for people arriving from Pakistan, as part of emergency services for Afghans returning home.
“The health workers informed us about the available TB services. They are helping us stay informed about our condition and that gives us peace of mind,” recounted Mujahid, who travelled with five family members.
People with symptoms such as coughing and chest pain undergo testing. Those with TB are recommended for treatment as they continue their journey.
“We refer cases to focal points in other provinces and maintain contact numbers to follow up, ensuring that treatment is promptly initiated and continued.”
– Abdul Hasib Rasoli, Health Worker at Torkham Border Crossing
But completing months-long TB treatment is especially challenging as people move.
In South Sudan, where food insecurity can adversely affect TB treatment and encourage migration, UNDP is supporting TB education at food distribution sites. Plans to further raise TB awareness include radio programmes with stories of people cured of TB.
“When flooding increases and people cannot farm, support for food rations can help people complete TB treatment,” Ochieng observed.
In Afghanistan, health workers use a mobile application to record and confidentially report TB cases to health authorities. Developed with national TB programmes, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the digital platform is designed to improve patient care and data sharing with health facilities as displaced people move between Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.
In 2024, UNDP piloted the platform at four border crossings, including Torkham, and at camps for internally displaced people in five provinces. It has been used to screen nearly 71,500 people for TB since February 2024, when the emergency funding began. As a result, health workers confirmed 242 cases, contributing to efforts to identify the estimated 25,000 people who remain undiagnosed annually in Afghanistan.
“The platform allows us to systematically record patient information, track cases and ensure they receive proper follow-up. It has significantly improved patient management and service delivery.”
Plans are underway for all three countries to scale-up the platform and integrate case reporting with their national health data systems.
An estimated 2.7 million TB cases worldwide went unreported in 2023, leaving people without treatment and putting more lives at risk. UNDP and partners are bringing health services directly to displaced communities, successfully treating more people with TB and reinforcing health systems during crises.
But global milestones and targets for ending TB are off track. And funding in 2023 reached just 26 percent of the US$22 billion needed annually to achieve them. With the Global Fund providing 76 percent of all international TB financing, bold investment in the Global Fund’s Eighth Replenishment is needed to expand access to TB health services and innovations.
UNDP, working with governments and partners, will stop at nothing to find and treat all people with TB, reaching those left furthest behind to end TB by 2030.
© 2026 United Nations Development Programme
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