Stop TB Canada Statement on USAID cuts and Canada’s role in ending TB
Stop TB Canada is speaking out against the Trump Administration’s recent decisions to dismantle USAID and withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO). These abrupt and harmful actions have already had devastating consequences in global health, affecting efforts to fight malaria, HIV/AIDS, climate change, malnutrition and food insecurity, but especially hurting people and communities fighting tuberculosis (TB) across the world.
Withdrawal of USAID’s critical global health programs will set the fight against infectious diseases back irreparably. As the world’s top infectious disease killer, TB affects millions of people worldwide and we aim to draw attention to the enormous consequences of these decisions. For example, there are heartbreaking reports of life-saving medicines locked in shuttered clinics and inaccessible to the people who need them, paired with an overnight reduction in capacity to respond to the spread of TB through communities (preliminary data from TB Community Coordination Hub survey).
In 2023, over one million lives were lost to TB globally and more than 160,000 of those deaths occurred among people living with HIV/AIDS. In addition to the ground being lost against TB alone, by pausing USAID directed funds, some of which support the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), we are now set to face an unimaginable compounding of human tragedy related to these diseases. In 2023, of the United States’ US$8.5 billion in global health bilateral assistance, 73% was implemented by USAID. Withdrawing USAID funding means cutting all of the U.S’ bilateral assistance to TB efforts. As the days pass, this funding gap risks worsening the threat TB poses to all while becoming more expensive to address.
The ideological rhetoric surrounding these actions, aimed at vilifying international cooperation, undermines global solidarity and decades of hard-earned progress towards establishing durable health systems worldwide; it stands only to divide us. Stop TB Canada has long supported the important USAID-funded work that strengthens health systems and delivers care, particularly in countries disproportionately impacted by TB. While centering the voices of people affected by TB and those on the frontlines of the response, we will continue to emphasize the power of cooperation in our vision of a world free from the disease.
We note that significant strides have been made fighting TB within Canada over the years, but the absolute number of people diagnosed with TB has increased. In 2023, 2,217 people were diagnosed with TB in Canada, up from 1,971 in 2022, with nearly 75% born outside Canada. This shows that global TB risks influence how the disease manifests at home. Given this, Stop TB Canada recognizes that, beyond the moral imperative of improving health and safety of people everywhere, it is also pragmatic.
Now is the time for decisive action. Canada’s leadership in the upcoming G7 presidency, its promotion of universal health coverage, and continued support for mechanisms in the fight to End TB, such as TB REACH and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, are more critical than ever to fight infectious disease risks, including those posed by TB.
In light of these unprecedented challenges, we call on Canada to fill gaps left by the U.S.’ withdrawal of international assistance by stepping up with additional investment and rally global partners around strategic and compassionate commitments to international cooperation. The future of millions depends on our collective action. Let us lead by example, upholding the values of solidarity, compassion, and justice for all.
#EndTB #GlobalHealth #StandWithTBCommunities #RestoreTBFunding #StopTBCanada
What do USAID stop work orders, funding freezes, and lay-offs mean to the fight to #endTB? Read more from our partners and allies here.