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Usaid funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts

The Trump administration's freeze on foreign aid delivered through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the subsequent shutdown and dismantling of the agency altogether, has sent shockwaves throughout the community of people working on tuberculosis (TB) treatment, diagnosis, and prevention. The 90-day funding freeze, which sources tell CIDRAP News came with no warning or ability to make contingency plans, has left no parts of the global TB control community untouched.

Does life-saving apply just to medication and diagnosis, or does it include what Ditiu calls the "soft part," like services that aim to support poor communities or help patients adhere to the 4- to 6-month TB treatment regimen? Statements from Elon Musk, who spearheads DOGE efforts, and administration officials have made it clear that many of the programs funded by USAID will no longer receive US financial support. The work supported by USAID, she said, has helped ensure that outbreaks caused by TB and other deadly infectious diseases are identified quickly and managed in the places they're happening before they reach the United States.

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