MSF urges EU and EEA to put TB back on the health agenda  

Brussels, 14 October 2025: At a panel discussion held in Brussels, Belgium today, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) urged policymakers, parliamentarians, regulatory agencies, and procurement bodies based in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA) to take urgent steps to bridge the gap in accessing tuberculosis (TB) treatment in the region. Specifically, MSF urged for action at both national and regional levels to update TB guidelines, improve country coordination, encourage joint ​ procurement of TB medicines, use regulatory flexibilities to import unregistered medicines, and promote price transparency – all of which are necessary actions to ensure an uninterrupted supply of affordable lifesaving medicines for people with TB in this region. 

“While effective medicines to treat and prevent TB have been available globally for years, it is preposterous that people ​ with TB in the highly developed EU/EEA region continue to face delayed, interrupted or suboptimal treatment because essential medicines are either exorbitantly priced, stuck in fragmented supply chain systems, or simply not registered in countries,” said Joanna Ładomirska, Medical Coordinator for MSF in Poland. “We urge policymakers, parliamentarians, procurement bodies and regulatory agencies in the EU/EEA to act fast to bridge this deadly treatment gap otherwise the goal of eliminating TB for countries in Europe will remain a distant dream.” ​ 

The EU/EEA are now experiencing a resurgence of TB and its resistant forms. In 2023, 38,993 cases of people with TB were reported in 29 EU/EEA countries, demonstrating a continuation of the slight increase observed in most countries for 2022. This resurgence threatens to derail progress towards Europe’s goal of eliminating TB by 2030, and underscores the need for a renewed focus on prevention, timely diagnosis, and effective treatment strategies. Treatment success rates for drug-sensitive TB (DS-TB) are gradually worsening, while treatment outcomes for drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) remain extremely unsatisfactory, with some countries in the region reporting success rates as low as 40 per cent – worryingly below the targeted treatment success rate of 90%, as outlined in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) End TB strategy. ​ 

As noted by MSF, critical DR-TB medicines such as bedaquiline, delamanid, and pretomanid remain exorbitantly priced in the region – sometimes up to over 100 times higher than in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). DR-TB treatment in the EU/EEA is priced at €45,000 per person for a 6-month treatment course, as compared to €275 in LMICs. The EU/EEA prices are prohibitive, making it difficult for countries in the region to maintain adequate stockpiles and limiting the ability of social security authorities to cover the cost of these drugs. In addition, essential fixed-dose combinations, paediatric formulations, and rifapentine-based preventive therapies remain unregistered and therefore unavailable in many parts of the EU/EEA. 

MSF first witnessed the systemic gaps in access to WHO-recommended TB treatments in the region when we launched a response in Poland to assist Ukrainian refugees and other migrants in accessing TB treatment in 2022. In the past three years, the Polish Ministry of Health has taken several positive steps to improve treatment access, specifically by aligning its national policies with WHO recommendations. However, many countries in the EU and EEA have not updated their guidelines to treat TB and continue to grapple with barriers in accessing effective medicines and treatment. ​ 

Olga*, a person living with DR-TB in Warsaw, Poland, was started on the all-oral, six-month DR-TB regimen as recommended by the WHO to replace the previous DR-TB treatment regimen which was less effective and more toxic. Following the new regimen allowed Olga to spend only the first two months of her six-month treatment in hospital before transitioning to ambulatory care to complete the remainder of her treatment at home. This transition was made possible through the contribution of needed medicines by MSF and the WHO, and saved her from staying at the hospital for the entire duration of treatment as required if using the previous, outdated treatment. ​ ​ 

“Following the previous treatment regimen would have been a death sentence for me and my loved ones,” said Olga, DR-TB survivor. “Thanks to the possibility of accessing modern outpatient treatment in Poland, I was able to receive care in the best possible conditions - that is in my own home, being with my loved ones. This treatment allowed me to recover without sacrificing family life, work, or mental health.” 

“Addressing the growing resurgence of TB in Europe is only possible with strong political will,” said Dr Marc Biot, Regional Coordinator, MSF Access. “It’s time for Europe to revive its fight against this preventable yet deadly disease, and guarantee access to the most advanced and effective treatment for everyone who needs it.” 

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Further reading: MSF’s Policy Brief - Bridging the gap: Securing access to essential TB medicines in the EU and EEA 

*Name changed to maintain anonymity. 

For interviews, please contact Shailly Gupta, Shailly.GUPTA@geneva.msf.org, +41 79 203 13 02