Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global health problem. In 2012, an estimated 8.6 million people developed TB and 1.3 million died from the disease (including 320 000 deaths among HIV-positive people). The number of TB deaths is unacceptably large given that most are preventable. Nearly 20 years after the WHO declaration of TB as a global public health emergency, major progress has been made towards 2015 global targets set within the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Two yearsa head of the deadline, the Global Tuberculosis Report 2013 and accompanying supplement Countdown to 2015 assess progress towards the 2015 targets and the top priority actions needed to achieve and/or move beyond them.