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WHO Calls for Immediate Action as Report Shows 10% Rise in Child TB Infections in European Region 

This 2006 electron microscope image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which causes the disease tuberculosis. (Janice Carr/CDC via AP) 
This 2006 electron microscope image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which causes the disease tuberculosis. (Janice Carr/CDC via AP) 
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WHO Calls for Immediate Action as Report Shows 10% Rise in Child TB Infections in European Region 

This 2006 electron microscope image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which causes the disease tuberculosis. (Janice Carr/CDC via AP) 
This 2006 electron microscope image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which causes the disease tuberculosis. (Janice Carr/CDC via AP) 

Tuberculosis (TB) infections among children in the European region rose 10% in 2023, indicating ongoing transmission and the need for immediate public health measures to control the spread, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

WHO's European region, which comprises 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia, reported more than 7,500 cases among children under 15 years of age in 2023, an increase of over 650 cases compared to 2022.

"The worrying rise in children with TB serves as a reminder that progress against this preventable and curable disease remains fragile," said Hans Henri Kluge, WHO's Regional Director for Europe.

Askar Yedilbayev, regional TB advisor for WHO's European region, said in an interview that a rise in overall cases might indicate improved diagnoses. However, it could also result from increased cross-border movement due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the two countries with the highest disease burden in the region.

Children under 15 years of age made up 4.3% of all TB cases in the European Union, a joint report by the WHO and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control showed.

This shows an increase in cases in this age group for the third consecutive year, which Yedilbayev said was a "worrisome scenario".

WHO has previously warned that funding cuts from global donors will undo progress in controlling TB infections across low- and middle-income countries. These cuts can hurt TB programs in non-EU countries, fueling a rise of hard-to-treat strains, the agency said.

Several local, on-ground workforces have been hurt from the funding cuts, and the supply of diagnostics and treatments remains at risk, said Yedilbayev.

TB, among the top 10 causes of death worldwide, is a potentially fatal bacterial infection that mainly affects the lungs and spreads through coughing or sneezing.

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Mexico Bans Junk Food Sales in Schools in Latest Salvo Against Child Obesity

A child snacks on cotton candy at Chapultepec park in Mexico City, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A child snacks on cotton candy at Chapultepec park in Mexico City, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
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Mexico Bans Junk Food Sales in Schools in Latest Salvo Against Child Obesity

A child snacks on cotton candy at Chapultepec park in Mexico City, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A child snacks on cotton candy at Chapultepec park in Mexico City, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

A government-sponsored junk food ban in schools across Mexico took effect on Saturday, officials said, as the country tries to tackle one of the world’s worst obesity and diabetes epidemics.
The health guidelines, first published last fall, take a direct shot at salty and sweet processed products that have become a staple for generations of Mexican schoolchildren, such as sugary fruit drinks, packaged chips, artificial pork rinds and soy-encased, chili-flavored peanuts, The Associated Press reported.
Announcing that the ban had become law, Mexico's Education Ministry posted on X: “Farewell, junk food!” It encouraged parents to support the government's crusade by cooking healthy meals for their kids.
“One of the core principles of the new Mexican school system is healthy living," said Mario Delgado, the public health secretary. “There's a high level of acceptance of this policy among parents.”
Mexico's ambitious attempt to remake its food culture and reprogram the next generation of consumers is being watched closely around the world as governments struggle to turn the tide on a global obesity epidemic.
In the United States, for instance, the Trump administration’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has vowed to upend the nation's food system and “ Make America Healthy Again " by targeting ultra-processed foods to curb surging obesity and disease.
Under Mexico's new order, schools must phase out any food and beverage displaying even one black warning logo marking it as high in salt, sugar, calories and fat. Mexico implemented that compulsory front-of-package labeling system in 2020.
Enforced from Monday morning, the start of the school week, the junk food ban also requires schools to serve more nutritious alternatives to junk food, like bean tacos, and offer plain drinking water.
“It is much better to eat a bean taco than a bag of potato chips,” said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has championed the ban.
Mexico’s children consume more junk food than anywhere else in Latin America, according to UNICEF, which classifies the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic as an emergency. Sugary drinks and highly processed foods account for 40% of the total calories that children consume in a day, the agency reports.
“At my daughter's school, they told us that future activities wouldn't have candy, it would be completely different, with fruit, vegetables and other food that's healthy for kids,” said Aurora Martínez, a mother of two. “It will help us a lot.”
One-third of Mexican children are already considered overweight or obese, according to government statistics.
School administrators found in violation of the order face stiff fines, ranging from $545 to $5,450.
But enforcement poses a challenge in a country where previous junk food bans have struggled to gain traction and monitoring has been lax across Mexico’s 255,000 schools, many of which lack water fountains — even reliable internet and electricity.
It also wasn't immediately clear how the government would forbid the sale of junk food on sidewalks outside school campuses, where street vendors typically hawk candy, chips, nachos and ice cream to kids during recess and after the school day ends.
“It will be difficult,” said Abril Geraldine Rose de León, a child therapist. “But it will be achieved in the long run.”