The World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for diagnosing TB have evolved along with available technologies and tools that are increasingly accurate, simple, and efficient at detecting TB and resistance to a wider range of TB drugs. An Activist’s Guide to Diagnostic Tools for Tuberculosis details the latest WHO recommendations for TB screening and diagnosis, the array of available diagnostic tools and how they should be optimally used in country programs, key access considerations, and actions activists can take to ensure that all people at risk of TB receive quality TB diagnostic testing.

This 2025 update to the guide builds on a previous version released in 2020, adding classes of tests and specific technologies that have since been reviewed and endorsed by the WHO. Updates include the use of computer-aided detection software for digital chest X-rays for TB screening, molecular diagnostic tests now categorized by level of complexity and automation, targeted next-generation sequencing for detection of drug resistance, and new concurrent testing strategies to improve diagnosis of TB among children and people living with HIV of all ages.

The guide provides activists with what they need to know to advocate for access to TB diagnostic testing at the highest standard of care, and suggests ways that activists can demand accountability from country governments, global donors, and diagnostic companies to ensure that everyone, everywhere, has access to timely, accurate, and affordable TB testing.