By Sheryl Passarge and Mary Minor / For The Herald
The following scenario is happening now on our shared earth:
A human being, who is loved by their family and friends, finally gets the courage to seek care for a persistent cough, night sweats and weight loss, which they have experienced for the past couple of months. There is so much stigma around infectious diseases, they were ashamed to take action, but now this disease has overwhelmed them and they are too weak to go to work or care for their family.
If this human being lives in Snohomish County, a doctor will see them and hopefully be mindful of the symptoms they are experiencing and test for multiple causes, which might include tuberculosis. If it is tuberculosis (TB), the Snohomish County Health Department will support and help treat them. TB is curable.
Yet, if this human being lives in a country where TB is endemic, like Zambia in southern Africa, this person may travel far in their weakened state to arrive at a health center only to be met with a shuttered clinic. No diagnostics. No medicine, hence no cure. If this person does have TB, this will result in unnecessary suffering, as TB is curable.
TB is the world’s biggest infectious killer
TB is curable when:
• People know they will be supported if they come forward acknowledging their symptoms.
• There is access to reliable diagnostic tools.
• There are knowledgeable medical staff and community health workers to support them.
• There are adequate medications to completely treat someone who needs a standard TB treatment period, which takes between four to nine months, or for drug-resistant TB, 18 to 24 months.
In 2023, according to the World Health Organization, an estimated 10.8 million people fell ill with TB worldwide and a total of 1.25 million people died from tuberculosis. This means, TB has surged as the top global infectious disease killer, surpassing covid-19.
Local advocates witness global TB efforts: Snohomish County RESULTS advocates have been to Zambia prior to these deadly freezes and cuts by the Trump administration. We have seen the warehouses that shine like gold with TB medications. We witnessed U.S. Agency for International Development projects that were helping to protect the health and stability of the Zambian people.
Has Zambia said thank you? More than you may know. A TB advocate from Zambia was in the home of a Snohomish County RESULTS advocate in recent years and she stated: “TB had me on death’s door. I was in the hospital but I am alive today because of global programs, like the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, which the United States has been a leader in encouraging the world to take action against TB. They created an efficient system to support the people of Zambia by shouldering some of the cost of TB medications. I was the lucky one. Had I been sick even a month earlier, TB medications were too scarce and I wouldn’t be here today.”
Economic consequences for Washington state: The decision to cut off USAID’s humanitarian aid without warning for the people in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, is inhumane on its face. The financial loss to businesses that work with USAID is also significant. The contracts terminated for Washington state businesses totals close to $900 million.
For example, PATH, based in Seattle, is a global nonprofit dedicated to achieving health equity. In 2021 they were selected to receive $30 million over five years to deliver cost-effective, life-saving malaria intervention. Mosquito season is coming soon and this aid cannot wait. As a South African immigrant, Elon Musk surely knows that. This was one of the “life-saving” programs that was supposed to have a waiver. Yet, we are still waiting. The mosquitoes are not waiting.
Global tuberculosis programs and other humanitarian aid efforts: 83 percent of life saving USAID programs have been decimated. World TB Day was March 24; that date has passed but, we must demand these programs be restored. The damage is already in play. Let the world know that the American people do not support these “cruel for the sake of cruelty” actions.
For 40 plus years, RESULTS has been working to raise political awareness, change policy, and dramatically scale up international funding for anti-poverty efforts.
The Snohomish County RESULTS volunteer chapter was established in 2004. We have witnessed the ebb and flow of funding for global health, education and economic justice initiatives over these two decades but what is occurring to our fellow human beings across the globe by our government is not only morally repugnant, but is deadly.
Sheryl Passarge and Mary Minor work with the Snohomish County RESULTS organization.
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