Not beaten yet
Where the fight stands.
A history of wins leaves out the diseases still winning. Five of them, in WHO and CDC’s own words. The one-line summaries are ours; the numbers are theirs, as of each page’s date.
HIV
No cure. Treatment exists; the virus stays.
“There is no cure for HIV infection.”
“There were an estimated 41.0 million people living with HIV at the end of 2025, 64% of whom are in the WHO African Region.”
Polio
Almost gone, but not yet: wild virus remains in two countries.
“There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented.”
“Cases due to wild poliovirus have decreased by over 99% since 1988, from an estimated 350 000 cases in more than 125 endemic countries, to two endemic countries.”
Tuberculosis
Curable, and still one of the world’s big killers.
“Tuberculosis is preventable and curable.”
“In 2024, an estimated 10.7 million people fell ill with TB worldwide, including 5.8 million men, 3.7 million women and 1.2 million children.”
Malaria
Curable, and cases are rising.
“It is preventable and curable.”
“According to the latest World malaria report, there were 282 million cases of malaria in 2024, an increase of about 9 million cases (3%) compared with 2023.”
Guinea worm
Down from millions of cases to a handful, with no vaccine and no cure.
“There is no vaccine or cure for dracunculiasis, but prevention and surveillance measures have brought the disease to the brink of eradication.”
“There were 14 human GWD cases reported in 2023 in Chad, South Sudan, Mali, Cameroon, and Central African Republic.”
“Five countries – Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, and South Sudan – remain endemic, while Sudan is currently in the pre-certification stage and Cameroon a certified country is experiencing a cross-border transmission at its extreme-northern border with Chad.”