WHO: Tuberculosis Likely to Surge After Aid Cuts

The latest dire warning in the wake of the Trump administration's massive aid cuts: Tuberculosis could surge around the globe. "Without immediate action, hard-won progress in the fight against TB is at risk," the director of the WHO's Global Program on TB and Lung Health said in a recent statement. USAID, one of the agencies devastated by DOGE cuts, provided as much as $250 million annually to fight TB around the globe—that's about 25% of the international donor funding for fighting TB in foreign countries, NBC News reports. The lung infection, caused by bacteria, kills more people around the world than any other infectious disease, and the WHO warns that US could be impacted too, as the ramifications from the aid cuts could ultimately lead to more travelers arriving in the US infected, and bringing TB with them. More recent coverage of possible fallout from the aid cuts:

• Other diseases, including paralytic polio and malaria, could also increase thanks to aid cuts, a former USAID administrator tells the CBC.
• Africa is expected to be hit hardest by the cuts. The New York Times takes a deep dive into what the continent will lose. A key line: "The cuts are expected to undo decades of efforts to save lives, pull people out of poverty, combat terrorism and promote human rights."
• Dozens of Afghan women who fled the Taliban in their country to study in Oman under a scholarship program funded by USAID now face the end of their higher education program and a return to Afghanistan within weeks, the BBC reports. The former administrator who spoke to the CBC says the education of "millions" more girls around the globe will also be at risk.
• An important food product for malnourished children is facing an uncertain future, CBS News reports.
• Global health experts have warned the Trump administration about mass death and disease spread following the gutting of USAID, ProPublica reports. Even programs that the administration admits are lifesaving are being cut anyway, the outlet further reports.
• A piece at Humanity Hub explains that the cuts happened so fast, the entire "ecosystem" of aid collapsed. "Because this was literally overnight and so big, it's not possible to adjust" and replace US aid with other funding, says the executive director of Every Casualty Counts.
• The Center for Global Development put together a list (see it here) of aid programs President Trump described as "appalling waste" in his recent speech to Congress. The projects include humanitarian assistance for refugees, initiatives to lower HIV/AIDS rates, and help for women and children.
• ACAPS offers an analysis of the humanitarian impacts of the funding freeze here.

(More USAID stories.)