The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that severe funding cuts, particularly by the United States, are jeopardizing decades of progress in the fight against tuberculosis (TB), the world’s deadliest infectious disease.

The agency reported that essential TB prevention, testing, and treatment services are collapsing, placing millions at risk, especially in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Western Pacific, where national TB programmes heavily rely on international support.

WHO’s Global TB Programme Director, Tereza Kasaeva, stressed that disruptions to these services—whether financial, political, or operational—could have devastating and fatal consequences.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres also raised concerns on February 24 about the immediate impact of funding cuts on critical health programmes tackling TB, HIV/AIDS, malaria, and cholera. 

Over the last two decades, global TB initiatives have saved over 79 million lives, with US funding playing a crucial role by contributing $200 to $250 million annually—about a quarter of total international donor support.

However, newly announced US funding cuts for 2025 threaten TB response efforts in at least 18 high-burden countries, with Africa expected to bear the brunt due to treatment disruptions and healthcare worker layoffs.

WHO has since urged immediate global action to prevent a backslide in TB progress.