The whole system of finding, diagnosing and treating tuberculosis — which kills more people worldwide than any other infectious disease — has collapsed in dozens of countries across Africa and Asia since President Trump ordered the aid freeze on Jan. 20, Inauguration Day.
The United States contributed about half of international donor funding to TB last year and here in Kenya paid for everything from nurses to lab equipment. Trump administration officials have said that other countries should contribute a greater share to global health programs. They say administration is evaluating foreign aid contracts to determine whether they are in the national interest of the United States.
While some of the TB programs may ultimately survive, none have received any money for months.
As John Green put it: we can no longer say that the deaths of tuberculosis are caused by a bacteria. The deaths of tuberculosis are caused by human choice. We have the choice to live in a world where millions don’t die by this treatable disease, but we chose not to.
I’m eagerly waiting for his upcoming book about this terrible disease.
I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a bit longer as John probably has to add a few more chapters due to current events …