Stop TB Partnership looks at downsizing after USAID cuts

Dr. Lucica Ditiu, executive director of the Stop TB Partnership, tells Devex that losing USAID funding will have an impact on the secretariat, those who are receiving grants from the partnership, as well as on the Global Drug Facility.

By Jenny Lei Ravelo // 04 March 2025

The Stop TB Partnership will be tightening its belt after losing funding from its biggest donor, the United States. The Stop TB Partnership is a U.N.-hosted entity that serves as a leading voice in the fight to end tuberculosis, with partners from different parts of the world, including governments, civil society, and community-based organizations. It coordinates global advocacy in fighting TB, and funds the work of CSOs and groups innovating and providing access to services for people living with the disease. It also facilitates global access to TB diagnostics and drugs through its Global Drug Facility. The organization, whose secretariat is based in Geneva, receives about half of its funding from the U.S. government. It was forced to suspend its grant funding to civil society organizations in the wake of the U.S. aid suspension. It was hoping funding would resume following the 90-day USAID review. But on Feb. 27, it received a termination notice — one of the nearly 10,000 funding awards the U.S. government decided to cut last week — effectively losing roughly $35 million. Dr. Lucica Ditiu, executive director of the Stop TB Partnership, told Devex that losing USAID funding will have an impact on the secretariat, those who are receiving grants from the partnership, as well as the Global Drug Facility. “We are not going to disappear, but we have to look [at] the manner in which we will survive, and how much we will have to tighten the belt [and] downsize,” she said. “I think any normal leader in his head in Geneva should look at tightening the belt in the current situation,” Ditiu said, not only because of the U.S. aid cuts, but also due to other donors cutting their funding, such as the United Kingdom, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Ditiu declined to provide further details on the impact on the secretariat but said downsizing comes with job losses. GDF will continue operating, but likely with a smaller team, she said. “We have to review the structure and have some downsizing as well. But in terms of operations, it's like people don't know when in the supermarket there are fewer workers between the lines … [but] you see that things are still moving,” she said. “That's going to happen with GDF as well. Customers and clients will not see any change, but we will have changes internally,” Ditiu said. She said they won’t be increasing fees for those buying TB drugs and diagnostics from the GDF but is concerned that some countries have also lost their USAID funding for TB drugs and may face difficulties purchasing these lifesaving medicines. The U.S. is one of the largest donors in the fight against TB globally, and USAID is the lead implementer of that funding, with bilateral support given to over 20 priority countries. It is also one of GDF’s biggest funders. But that funding benefits U.S. businesses too. Ditiu said about 40% of the products sold by GDF are produced by American companies, with sales reaching some $140 million in 2024. Ditiu said the biggest impact will be on their grant recipients. On Friday, the Stop TB Partnership sent out termination letters to 140 grantees, both those under the Challenge Facility for Civil Society and Stop TB Partnership working groups. “I know that a lot of them are volunteering. I know that we try to give them a little bit of money, But we don't hear of any donor to come and step in or do something about it. So that's, for me, a huge loss,” she said. The consequences for TB are expected to be huge. The halt in U.S. aid funding could lead to a 32% increase in multidrug-resistant TB worldwide, according to an unsent, leaked memo by a top USAID official from the Global Health Bureau who was put on administrative leave right after the termination notices. Ditiu is perplexed about how the U.S. arrived at its decision, especially after TB outbreaks in Kansas and North Carolina this year. “If they knew that [it] is not enough to close the borders to get rid of TB, if they knew that we have as well [multidrug-resistant] TB that is also spread through air and even extreme drug resistance, I don't think that they would have terminated us,” she said.

The Stop TB Partnership will be tightening its belt after losing funding from its biggest donor, the United States.

The Stop TB Partnership is a U.N.-hosted entity that serves as a leading voice in the fight to end tuberculosis, with partners from different parts of the world, including governments, civil society, and community-based organizations. It coordinates global advocacy in fighting TB, and funds the work of CSOs and groups innovating and providing access to services for people living with the disease. It also facilitates global access to TB diagnostics and drugs through its Global Drug Facility.

The organization, whose secretariat is based in Geneva, receives about half of its funding from the U.S. government. It was forced to suspend its grant funding to civil society organizations in the wake of the U.S. aid suspension. It was hoping funding would resume following the 90-day USAID review. But on Feb. 27, it received a termination notice — one of the nearly 10,000 funding awards the U.S. government decided to cut last week — effectively losing roughly $35 million.

About the author

Jenny Lei Ravelo @JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.

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