Letter: Cuts to USAID will result in major tuberculosis risk
I just finished reading 'Everything Is Tuberculosis' by John Green. This book changed my worldview. In America, we don't give tuberculosis a second thought, but in 2023, 1,250,000 died of the disease. We've had the drugs to cure TB for about 70 years, yet they don't get to the places where they could reduce the death toll. Should we care? Apparently not.
In his crusade to downsize the federal government, Elon Musk and his minions virtually eliminated the U.S. Agency for International Development. USAID has saved the lives of 58 million people since 2000.
Without USAID funding, the death toll will increase. Should Musk be held responsible for these deaths? The man who has called Social Security a Ponzi scheme, who is the world's richest person, who at one point violated immigration laws by overstaying his student visa? I'd like to see us call on Sen. Dave McCormick to act to stop this unelected, arrogant person from further ruining our country. Why? Drug-resistant TB will evolve, and if we don't continue to develop new drugs, it will come back to the USA. We might not be ready.
The book is available in Berks County libraries.
Don Spence
Spring Township
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Medscape
41 minutes ago
- Medscape
Contraceptives for Poorest Countries Stuck in Warehouses After US Aid Cuts
LONDON (Reuters) -Contraceptives that could help prevent millions of unwanted pregnancies in some of the world's poorest countries are stuck in warehouses because of U.S. aid cuts and could be destroyed, two aid industry sources and one former government official said. The stock, held in Belgium and Dubai, includes condoms, contraceptive implants, pills and intrauterine devices, together worth around $11 million, the sources told Reuters. It has been stalled since the Trump administration started cutting foreign aid as part of its 'America First' policy in February, as the U.S. government no longer wants to donate the contraceptives or pay the costs for delivery, they said. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has instead asked the contractor managing its health supply chain, Chemonics, to try to sell it, two of the sources said. An internal USAID memo, sent in April, said a quantity of contraceptives was being kept in warehouses and they should be "immediately transferred to another entity to prevent waste or additional costs". A senior U.S. State Department official told Reuters no decision had been made about the future of the contraceptives. They did not respond to questions about the reasons why the contraceptives were in storage or the impact of the U.S. aid cuts and delays. A spokesperson for Chemonics said they were unable to comment on USAID's plans, but added that the company is working with clients to deliver life-saving aid globally and would continue to support the U.S. government's global health supply chain priorities. The stock represents just under 20% of the supply of contraceptives bought annually by the U.S. for donation overseas, a former USAID official told Reuters. Selling or donating the contraceptives has been challenging, according to the former USAID official, although talks are ongoing. Another option on the table is destroying it, at a cost of several hundred thousand dollars. As time goes on, shelf-lives will also become an issue, one of the sources said. The sources told Reuters that one of the key delays is a lack of response from the U.S. government about what should be done with the stock. It had been destined largely for vulnerable women in sub-Saharan Africa, including young girls who face higher health risks from early pregnancy as well as those fleeing conflict or who otherwise could not afford or access the contraceptives, the sources added. The condoms also help stop the spread of HIV, the former USAID official said. "We cannot dwell on an issue for too long; when urgency and clarity don't align, we have to move on," said Karen Hong, chief of UNFPA's supply chain. She said the agency is now working on Plan B to help fill critical supply gaps. (Reporting by Jennifer Rigby; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Aid workers say USAID cuts are putting the lives of children with HIV at risk
Nearly 200 children live in a hillside village on the border of Kampala, Uganda. They are given food, shelter and an education at the Light the Future Foundation, a school and orphanage founded by Patrick Ssenyondo. The organization provides critical care for HIV-positive children who have been left by their parents in the east African country. "Most of the children here lost their parents, and those that have them, they can't take care of them," Ssenyondo told ABC News. "They can't pay their tuition, they cannot pay for their medication, they can't pay for food." The children, who are facing the unimaginable, now have another blockade to survival. On Jan. 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that suspended foreign aid for 90 days. Later came the termination of several foreign aid contracts, which have upended facilities and organizations like the Light the Future Foundation. Ssenyondo told ABC News that his foundation used to have a month's supply of medication prior to the cuts. Now, he's resorted to rationing the children's medication, only having a week's supply since the cuts have taken place While no child has died at his center, the children's 28-year-old teacher, Ms. Mary, passed away after Ssenyondo says she wasn't able to access her antiretrovirals -- a result of the USAID cuts. That's a fate Ssenyondo hopes won't fall on the children. He told ABC News he can't bear to tell them they aren't getting their medications. "If you tell one child that you know, we are no [longer] getting medication for your AIDS, so you're going to lose your life," Ssenyondo said. "That's something we cannot do. So we keep quiet." In another part of rural Uganda, Bayo Emmanuel, founder of the Bright Star Orphanage, shared a similar story. The eight HIV positive orphans he cared for got their medication for free prior to the cuts. After the cuts, Emmanuel said he was told he should turn to the private sector, where he would have to pay for their medication. He couldn't afford all of the children's medication and the orphanage ran out. One of the children, 14-year-old Migande Andrew, quickly fell ill. "He got weaker and weaker every day and lost his life in the process," Bayo told ABC News. The community he loved gathered to say their goodbyes, burying him on Feb. 21. Uganda has one of the highest rates of HIV in the world. Migande Andrew and Ms. Mary are just two of an estimated 53,000 HIV-related deaths worldwide resulting from US Aid cuts, according to Boston University's PEPFAR Impact Tracker. This tool tracks the impact of the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief, created by George W. Bush in 2003 and credited with saving 20 million lives around the globe. Today, the tool projects more than 9,000 children's lives could be lost globally by the end of 2025 if services aren't restored. Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced it was terminating 90% of its foreign aid contracts and cutting $60 billion in funding for international programs that support everything from famine relief to fighting infectious diseases like HIV and AIDS. The administration has denied any lives have been lost in connection to the recent cuts. On Feb. 4, Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the cuts during a press conference. "We've issued waivers because we don't want to see anybody die or anybody be harmed in the short term," he said. "But we're going to conduct a review, and we are going to have foreign aid in this country that is going to further the national interests of the United States." In a tense May 21 exchange before members of the Senate Foreign Committee, Rubio said he was very proud of the work the administration has done so far with USAID, though he was questioned by several lawmakers as to the severity of the cuts. Despite the abrupt termination of resources from the U.S., people in Uganda are doing everything they can to keep their communities alive. To the west of Kampala, a clinic called The Family Hope Center is still running due to the strength and resilience of its workers. Since March, all staff have been working for free. The center has provided comprehensive HIV care and treatment services since 2005. It's been a lifeline for just under 4,000 patients, who are now unsure of how the center will be funded. "If we are not working, that means more people are going to get HIV, more people will drop out of care," Mubezi Peruth, a nurse at the center, told ABC News. "So we have to be here to encourage our clients to continue taking the medicine and to teach those that are negative to stay negative through the prevention information we give them." At the orphanage, Ssenyondo is unsure of what will happen next. "This is the time when the children need us more," he said. "This is the time when we have to act so much to encourage these children not to lose efforts to fight AIDS." Aid workers say USAID cuts are putting the lives of children with HIV at risk originally appeared on
6 hours ago
Aid workers say USAID cuts are putting the lives of children with HIV at risk
Nearly 200 children live in a hillside village on the border of Kampala, Uganda. They are given food, shelter and an education at the Light the Future Foundation, a school and orphanage founded by Patrick Ssenyondo. The organization provides critical care for HIV-positive children who have been left by their parents in the east African country. "Most of the children here lost their parents, and those that have them, they can't take care of them," Ssenyondo told ABC News. "They can't pay their tuition, they cannot pay for their medication, they can't pay for food." The children, who are facing the unimaginable, now have another blockade to survival. On Jan. 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that suspended foreign aid for 90 days. Later came the termination of several foreign aid contracts, which have upended facilities and organizations like the Light the Future Foundation. Ssenyondo told ABC News that his foundation used to have a month's supply of medication prior to the cuts. Now, he's resorted to rationing the children's medication, only having a week's supply since the cuts have taken place While no child has died at his center, the children's 28-year-old teacher, Ms. Mary, passed away after Ssenyondo says she wasn't able to access her antiretrovirals -- a result of the USAID cuts. That's a fate Ssenyondo hopes won't fall on the children. He told ABC News he can't bear to tell them they aren't getting their medications. "If you tell one child that you know, we are no [longer] getting medication for your AIDS, so you're going to lose your life," Ssenyondo said. "That's something we cannot do. So we keep quiet." In another part of rural Uganda, Bayo Emmanuel, founder of the Bright Star Orphanage, shared a similar story. The eight HIV positive orphans he cared for got their medication for free prior to the cuts. After the cuts, Emmanuel said he was told he should turn to the private sector, where he would have to pay for their medication. He couldn't afford all of the children's medication and the orphanage ran out. One of the children, 14-year-old Migande Andrew, quickly fell ill. "He got weaker and weaker every day and lost his life in the process," Bayo told ABC News. The community he loved gathered to say their goodbyes, burying him on Feb. 21. Uganda has one of the highest rates of HIV in the world. Migande Andrew and Ms. Mary are just two of an estimated 53,000 HIV-related deaths worldwide resulting from US Aid cuts, according to Boston University's PEPFAR Impact Tracker. This tool tracks the impact of the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief, created by George W. Bush in 2003 and credited with saving 20 million lives around the globe. Today, the tool projects more than 9,000 children's lives could be lost globally by the end of 2025 if services aren't restored. Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced it was terminating 90% of its foreign aid contracts and cutting $60 billion in funding for international programs that support everything from famine relief to fighting infectious diseases like HIV and AIDS. The administration has denied any lives have been lost in connection to the recent cuts. On Feb. 4, Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the cuts during a press conference. "We've issued waivers because we don't want to see anybody die or anybody be harmed in the short term," he said. "But we're going to conduct a review, and we are going to have foreign aid in this country that is going to further the national interests of the United States." In a tense May 21 exchange before members of the Senate Foreign Committee, Rubio said he was very proud of the work the administration has done so far with USAID, though he was questioned by several lawmakers as to the severity of the cuts. Despite the abrupt termination of resources from the U.S., people in Uganda are doing everything they can to keep their communities alive. To the west of Kampala, a clinic called The Family Hope Center is still running due to the strength and resilience of its workers. Since March, all staff have been working for free. The center has provided comprehensive HIV care and treatment services since 2005. It's been a lifeline for just under 4,000 patients, who are now unsure of how the center will be funded. "If we are not working, that means more people are going to get HIV, more people will drop out of care," Mubezi Peruth, a nurse at the center, told ABC News. "So we have to be here to encourage our clients to continue taking the medicine and to teach those that are negative to stay negative through the prevention information we give them." At the orphanage, Ssenyondo is unsure of what will happen next.
