Dhaka, Dec. 7 -- The National Tuberculosis Control Programme (NTP) is facing a new funding crisis. After the withdrawal of funding by USAID, the Global Fund is now set to discontinue its financial support as well.

As a result, 479 officers and staff members are losing their jobs. Meanwhile, the stock of TB medicines is nearly depleted, and experts warn that without immediate action, this could severely undermine the country's TB eradication efforts.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), nearly 379,000 people contract TB in Bangladesh each year, with 44,000 deaths annually. Bangladesh aims to reduce the yearly number of infections to 70,000 and deaths to 6,000 by 2030. However, 17 percent of TB patients in the c...