Credit: TB Community Coordination HubThis week’s edition of the TB CAB Weekly Newsletter (#9, 11 March) explores more closely the devastating impact of the US funding withdrawal on TB response, programs and research.
According to a survey undertaken by the TB Community Coordination Hub, of the 180 survey respondents – representing 31 countries and including leaders, technical staff, TB champions, and community healthcare workers from local, national, and regional civil society organizations and community networks – over 50% indicated that their ability to deliver TB services has been “severely” impacted by the US Stop Work orders with nearly 25% having to close down their offices and projects entirely. The TB Community Coordination Hub strongly condemns this callous, abrupt and totally one-sided act that is unprecedented, and calls upon the US administration to take immediate measures to restore funding and support projects globally that are crucial to contain and prevent a resurgence of TB. The Hub also calls on all countries, global TB leadership and donor organisations to take urgent measures to gear up alternate funding to enable uninterrupted TB treatment and care to those in need.
Early reports to the World Health Organization from the 30 highest TB-burden countries confirm that US funding withdrawals are already dismantling essential services, threatening the global fight against TB. Without immediate intervention, these systemic failures will cripple TB prevention and treatment efforts, reverse decades of progress and endanger millions of lives. In addition, USAID, the world’s third-largest TB research funder, has halted all its funded trials, severely disrupting progress in TB research and innovation. One of the many projects that received termination letters from the US administration is the SMART4TB program – one of the biggest TB research grants in history.
Dr. Lucica Ditiu, executive director of the Stop TB Partnership, explained that losing USAID funding will have an impact on the secretariat, those who are receiving grants from the Partnership, as well as on the Global Drug Facility (GDF). The US is one of GDF’s biggest funders. The Stop TB Partnership has already sent out termination letters to 140 grantees, both those under the Challenge Facility for Civil Society and Stop TB Partnership working groups.
Access the TB CAB Weekly Newsletter here.
The TB CAB Weekly Newsletter is brought to you by the Global TB Community Advisory Board (TB CAB) with the support of Treatment Action Group (TAG) and EATG. Subscribe to the newsletter here.
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