World TB Day - March 24, 2005

A TB patient in Thailand covers his mouth in an attempt to stop the spread of the disease. Source: WHO/TBP/Falise

Tuberculosis (TB), an ancient disease, still kills more than 2 million people every year despite the fact that a cure has been available for over 50 years. With nearly 25,000 people developing active TB on a daily basis, approximately one-third of the world’s population (2 billion people) are infected with TB. Of these numbers, over 95 percent of the new cases occur in developing countries. The impact of TB produces greater detriment in developing countries because it generally afflicts the most economically active segment of the population -- those between the ages of 15 and 54. For families of persons who die from this disease, the impact of TB results in nearly 15 years of lost income due to premature death. Therefore, TB creates a vicious cycle by spreading more rampantly in impoverished regions, and in turn, causing further poverty as the economy declines as a result of the illness.

Below you will find more information regarding TB programs supported by USAID, our partners and the regions of the world in which TB is most virulent. Read more about this disease and the efforts to finally STOP TB!

USAID News and Information on Tuberculosis

• Commentary: Combating TB - 3/27/05
  Written by Andrew Natsios, USAID Administrator, Aileen Carroll, Canadian Minister of International Cooperation and Hilary Benn, the United Kingdom's Secretary of State for International Development. The U.S., Canada and the U.K. are the three largest donors in the global Stop TB Partnership.
• Tuberculosis Country Profiles
• USAID Announces More Than $3 Million to Expand Anti-Tuberculosis Programs
• USAID Awards TB Alliance $8 Million Grant

Related Links

• Global Alliance for TB Drug Development
  The Alliance's mission is to ensure equitable access to a faster tuberculosis cure that will advance global health and prosperity.
• International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD)
  The Union's mission is to prevent and control TB and lung disease, as well as related health problems, on a worldwide basis, with emphasis on low-income countries.
• The Stop TB Partnership
  Stop TB is a global movement to accelerate social and political action to stop the unnecessary spread of tuberculosis around the world.
• The Tuberculosis Coalition for Technical Assistance (TBCTA)
  TBCTA provides consultation and technical assistance to USAID’s Field Missions, Global and Regional Bureaus, as well as public and private Stop TB Partnership partners.
• Tuberculosis Drug Access and Management Can Save Millions