The US Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Health and Abt Associates, is launching TB Free Uzbekistan, a five-year initiative that is investing $18 million to provide comprehensive support services and increase access to key tuberculosis (TB) services across the country.
Uzbekistan is dealing with high rates of multidrug-resistant TB which poses a significant threat to Uzbekistan’s public health system and the country’s health and economic development. The republic is making steady progress, but TB remains one of its most pressing public health threats. According to Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Health, in 2022, eight percent of new TB cases in the country had resistance to two of the most commonly used and effective treatment drugs.
USAID leads the US Government’s global TB efforts and has been a proud partner of the Government of Uzbekistan in the fight against TB. USAID’s Global TB Strategy 2023-2030 aims to achieve our shared vision of a TB-free world. As the world’s largest bilateral donor, USAID uses new innovations and research to accelerate efforts to End TB
USAID had a robust presence surrounding the United Nations high-level meeting on TB on September 22, 2023. USAID’s Assistant Administrator for Global Health, Atul Gawande participated in multiple TB events, culminating with the high-level meeting at which he launched the Global Accelerator to End TB Plus, an enhanced package of interventions that will accelerate the development of strategies to achieve a more accountable, responsible, and inclusive TB response.
From 1993 to 2023, the total amount of the U.S. Government assistance to Uzbekistan in health has totaled over $155 million of which nearly $60 million was focused on TB mitigation. TB Free Uzbekistan establishes the U.S. Government’s continued commitment to the prevention, detection of transmission, treatment, reduction of TB stigma, and also to Uzbekistan’s reforms for improving health information systems including health financing. Furthermore, this US-Uzbekistan bilateral partnership will build the country’s capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to pandemic threats.
