WHO warns of a surge in TB cases and deaths across Africa

Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, acting regional director for Africa during during the Africa Health Agenda International Conference (AHAIC) 2025, in Kigali, Rwanda. March 3, 2025 [Mercy Kahenda, Standard] World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned of a surge in Tuberculosis (TB) cases in the African continent following a radical stop order by the U.S. government stopping foreign aid. Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Acting WHO Regional Director for Africa, said though most programs have been affected by the order, the hit of TB is already being felt, and is likely to result in a spike of cases and death. The Stop TB Partnership, an organisation dedicated to TB prevention, diagnosis, and treatment in Kenya and African continent, has been significantly affected by the funding cut initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump's stop order. Ihekweazu said the TB program was heavily dependent on donors and its sustainability remains in the balance. Stop-TB programs in Africa was supported through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and works on TB response with more than 2,000 partners in 100 countries across the globe Through the program, countries were able to mobilise for TB vaccines, drugs, testing and preventive activities, a role that has since stopped. "TB is the most affected. TB medicine was procured by the U.S. Testing and prevention of the disease was also supported by the donor. Currently, a high percentage of activities that used to run under TB program have stopped," said the WHO boss. TB is among the leading killer diseases in the African continent, alongside HIV/AIDS and malaria. In 2022, at least 2.5 million people fell ill with TB in Africa, accounting for a quarter of new TB cases worldwide. An estimated 424,000 people died from the disease in the African region in 2022. The WHO regional boss spoke during the ongoing Africa Health Agenda International Conference (AHAIC) 2025, in Kigali, Rwanda. He said the stop order is likely to make the continent lose gains made in the fight against the leading infectious diseases. Kenya is among the countries where the anti-TB program has been highly affected by the stop order. For instance, there is a lack of a sample referral mechanism that is missing patients with Drug Resistance TB, who are feared to spread the disease to the community, placing entire population at risks of infection. The likelihood of late diagnosis of drug-resistant TB that will require longer treatment, that is expensive, has more side effects, and risks increased TB deaths. Sample network collection is also not happening in the country, as the activity was funded by the U.S. Government. Unfortunately, some facilities are reported to discard some sputum samples collected for tests due to lack of transport. "The government should take up the sample network and transportation as urgent and ensure no client goes without testing both new and those currently on treatment," said Stephen Anguva, the National Coordinator of the Network of TB champions Kenya. He added, "TB is a time bomb that if not contained, it will explode, and we will see more infections all over the country". The freeze on foreign aid is reported at a time Kenya and the globe have reported a rise in TB infections globally, more so in children under five. Last year, Kenya reported an alarming rise in TB cases among children under 15 from 12 per cent in 2023 to 13 per cent. In 2023, 139,00 people in Kenya developed TB, including 17,000 children. In Kenya, at least 133,000 people living with TB, with 16,000 in children having developed the disease. Annually, 12,000 people are infected with TB in the country. Globally, 10.6 million fell ill with TB in 2021. TB is caused by mycobacterium bacteria, spread through the lungs, that presents with cough, sneeze or spit. Additionally, Ihekweazu said HIV services are also bearing the brunt of the stop order, including malaria. TB, malaria and HIV/AIDS programs in the African continent are heavily dependent on the donor. The official said it is the responsibility of African leadership to identify challenges facing them, and find mitigations, even with the 90-day suspension order. "We are not certain even with the suspension of the stop order if programs are running or not. Quick measures need to be put in place to avoid a pandemic," said the WHO boss. The official pleaded with African leaders to strengthen Africa's local pharmaceutical production to reduce dependency on imported medicine, to ease the burden of treating diseases. "We need to look inwards, for example, vaccine manufacturing has captured the imagination of the world, which we need to invest in," he said.

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WHO warns of a surge in TB cases and deaths across Africa

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