World Tuberculosis Day (March 24) was a reminder that threat of tuberculosis (TB) is alive and real. In 2023 alone, TB infected 10 million people around the world and took 1.25 million lives.
Fortunately, decades of international cooperation have us closer to ending TB than at any time in history. According to the WHO, 79 million lives have been saved in the last 25 years from these efforts.
But TB has been given new life. The Trump administration’s decision to callously shut down USAID and freeze foreign aid programs has thrown the world’s fight against TB and other deadly diseases into a tailspin. Conducting testing, delivering medicines, and coordinating treatment have come to an abrupt halt. People are dying as a result.
This situation is fixable. The Trump administration can restart aid programs immediately and get things back on track.
As we recognize World TB Day, our members of Congress must stand up for the good foreign aid does to save and improve lives, and demand the Trump administration restart lifesaving and humanitarian foreign aid programs immediately.
Mike and Leslie Boyer
Bremerton
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