The fight against tuberculosis (TB) worldwide is facing a significant setback due to the suspension of funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). There are over 10,000 TB diagnostic centers globally, with 196 located in Bangladesh alone. These centers, spread across rural and urban areas, provide advanced TB diagnosis, treatment, and research. However, many of these facilities are now at risk of shutting down due to the funding halt. Experts warn that if TB treatment centers worldwide close, it could severely impact healthcare systems and hinder global TB eradication efforts.

According to a Guardian report on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio officially announced the cancellation of most USAID programs worldwide. In a post on social media platform X, he stated that 83% of USAID’s operations were suspended for the next six weeks as part of a review process. This includes over 5,200 contracts that were set to cost billions of dollars.

For years, USAID funding has supported TB treatment centers in various countries. The funding cut poses a severe threat to combating this complex disease. Dr. Lucica Ditiu, head of the Switzerland-based nonprofit Stop TB Partnership, warned that halting TB treatments could lead to a global surge in the disease, potentially making it untreatable. She added that the funding cut, originally implemented during the Trump administration, could significantly worsen TB outbreaks due to the inability to diagnose and contain the disease.

Last month, a warning was issued regarding the suspension of global TB center funding. The World Health Organization (WHO) stated last week that the U.S. had been contributing $200 million to $250 million annually to help low-income nations fight TB. WHO also cautioned that without this financial support, decades of progress in TB eradication could be undone.

The U.S. State Department has justified the funding cuts by emphasizing a strategy focused on national security, economic strength, and overall prosperity. However, Dr. Ditiu criticized this approach, arguing that defunding TB prevention efforts would not achieve these goals. She pointed out that TB is an airborne disease that cannot be stopped at national borders, meaning anyone breathing the air remains at risk. Furthermore, the threat is not just from standard TB but also from drug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant strains, which could become increasingly unmanageable without continued intervention.