Funding Cuts Could Harm Global Efforts To Fight Tuberculosis, Who Warns

The World Health Organization warned this week that massive cuts in funding, especially from the United States, could harm the fight against tuberculosis around the world.

The U.S. has annually provided between $200 million to $250 million in funding for global TB programs, making it the "largest bilateral donor," according to the WHO.

In January, President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day freeze on foreign aid delivered through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The Trump administration last week canceled contracts worth about $60 billion in humanitarian work abroad that were funded by USAID and the State Department, including for global health programs.

According to the WHO, these cuts could affect TB response efforts in at least 18 countries, and where it says 89% of "expected" U.S. funding was being used for patient care.

Africa, Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific are the regions hardest hit by TB that rely on funding, the WHO said in a statement Wednesday. Cuts will impact Africa particularly due to staff layoffs and disruptions in treatment, which could cause TB rates to rise, the organization said.

"Any disruption to TB services -- whether financial, political or operational -- can have devastating and often fatal consequences for millions worldwide," Dr. Tereza Kasaeva, director of the WHO Global Program on TB and Lung Health, said in a statement.

TB is a disease caused by a type of bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's one of the world's leading infectious disease killers, the federal health agency says.

TB is a preventable and treatable disease, but more than 3,500 people lose their lives to TB every day, according to the CDC.

The United Nations says funding cuts are already causing the dismantling of health services, including layoffs, drug shortages and disruptions to research.

"Without immediate action, hard-won progress in the fight against TB is at risk. Our collective response must be swift, strategic and fully resourced to protect the most vulnerable and maintain momentum toward ending TB," Kasaeva said.

This week, the Stop TB Partnership -- which is hosted and administered by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) -- updated a report on the TB response efforts impacted as a result of halted USAID funding, which include screenings, rapid testing, providing treatment, community monitoring and operational research.

"While some mitigation measures are being explored, the long-term impact on TB care efforts could be severe if funding is not restored promptly," the report stated.

The WHO's warning comes after U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned last week that the U.S. funding cuts would have a devastating impact on humanitarian efforts.

"These cuts impact a wide range of critical programs," he told reporters on Friday. "Going through with these cuts will make the world less healthy, less safe and less prosperous."

On Wednesday, in a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court said the Trump administration must comply with a lower court's order and pay out nearly $2 billion in foreign assistance funds to nonprofit aid groups for work already completed on the government's behalf.

The ruling did not specify a deadline by which the funds have to be paid out, and it's unclear if any of the funds were allocated for TB programs.