Written by Professor Helen Cox, head of Prevention of tuberculosis and other airborne pathogens.
Today marks World TB Day, commemorated on 24 March - 143 years after Robert Koch announced the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB) disease. While Australia is fortunate to have almost eliminated TB, most of the rest of the world continues to grapple with this deadly, yet preventable disease.
There are currently close to 11 million people who develop TB every year and more than a million people will die as a result. More lives will be lost to TB as a result of the near total withdrawal of United States funding for essential TB services. The dismantling of USAID, which provides one-third of global TB funding, will have immediate and drastic consequences. While the effects will be felt most acutely across Africa, we will also feel the effects in our region, particularly in Indonesia, the Philippines, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.
These cuts exacerbate an already underfunded global TB response. TB is an airborne infectious disease - individuals can become sick just by breathing in the bacteria. A failure to effectively diagnose and treat people with TB in one country has widespread implications both for the region and globally. And yet, we have all the knowledge and tools to eliminate TB. TB elimination will require substantial funding commitments in the short term, but the future economic benefits will far surpass this initial spending and contribute substantially to economic growth for many countries.
Given the current, critical global situation in funding for TB activities, we urge donors and countries to rapidly step up funding for immediate TB services. We, at the Burnet, encourage a longer-term commitment to fund activities not just designed to save lives but aimed towards eliminating TB as a threat to health in the future.
This is where continued Australian leadership in TB could play a key role, both in funding innovation and in supporting national leadership within affected countries. Australia has provided substantial support for the Papua New Guinean TB programme which has directly saved lives, strengthened local capacity and prevented cross-border spread.
TB is a disease that affects the most disadvantaged across Australia, our region and the world. In September 2023 at the United Nations General Assembly, world leaders committed to accelerating progress towards ending TB by providing equitable access to prevention, treatment and care. This included a commitment to address TB during health and humanitarian emergencies. Given the immediate shortfall in TB funding, now is the time for donors and individual countries to action that commitment, followed by sustained support for TB elimination.
