The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is launching a call for evidence for their five-year Tuberculosis (TB) National Action Plan in England, which will run from 2026 to 2031.

TB rates in both England and worldwide are rising, diverging from the trajectory required to achieve World Health Organisation (WHO) elimination targets and making new action paramount to ensure that rates are kept below the threshold of ten cases per 100,000 population.

In 2023, England recorded its largest annual increase of 11 per cent in TB cases since the start of enhanced surveillance in 2000. Reflecting global trends, provisional figures for 2024 indicate a further 13 per cent rise in TB cases compared to 2023. Following the pandemic in 2020-21, global TB incidence rates have increased.

The new Tuberculosis National Action Plan (2026-31) aims to improve the prevention, detection, and control of TB in England through prioritising the most effective interventions that focus on those most affected, and addressing health inequalities.

The call for evidence seeks insights from: academics, health and social care professionals, public health experts epidemiologists, data and surveillance scientists, civil society representatives, policymakers, politicians, and those with lived experience of tuberculosis.

The Call for Evidence opened yesterday (2nd April 2025) and will close on 2nd May 2025.

Dr Esther Robinson, head of the TB unit at UKHSA, said: “TB is curable and preventable, but the disease remains a serous public health issue in England. While England is still considered a low-incidence country for TB, the rise in cases over recent years means that we are now just below that threshold. This call for evidence will help us develop an action plan that prioritises the mosts effective interventions to reverse this trend, focusing particularly on the needs of those most affected