JOHANNESBURG - The future is not bleak in the fight against Tuberculosis.
This is according to Global Health Advisor at International SOS, Dr Chris Van Straten who was speaking to eNCA ahead of World TB Day observed on 24 March.
There have been significant progress in the fight against tuberculosis is being recognised.
Over the past two decades, improvements in testing and treatment have saved over 79 million lives.
But there are now concerns over life-saving research possibly being halted due to US funding cuts.
READ | World TB Day | Concerns over research funding
Noting looming concerns, Van Straten says there is no clarity yet regarding this decision to cause
We need to acknowledge the role played by the US over the decade in terms of funding, science, leadership and what is challenging we do not know the full scale of the cuts and we still do not have full clarity but there is a bigger picture."
While funding cuts could place the country in a challenging position van Straten says there is still a global network that are starting to step up its not bleak.
Van Straten commanded the work being done to get TB on the back foot especially among government entities, private organisations and non-profit organisations
This collaboration according to Van Straten, has seen TB in many countries being stable, plateauing or dropping including South Africa.