A student organization is advocating for the passage of a Senate bill that provides government funding to treat tuberculosis.
GW Partners in Health, a chapter of an international nonprofit, is lobbying members of Congress to support the End TB Now Act as part of the nonprofit’s nationwide campaign to pass the bill, which passed unanimously in the Senate on Sept. 19, but the companion bill has not yet been brought to the House floor. The bipartisan bill aims to support the diagnosis and treatment of all individuals affected by the disease by ensuring government funding supports the development of “person-centered programs,” coordinating with other organizations to pursue an “aggressive” research agenda and training health care workers.
Tuberculosis is an airborne disease that attacks the lungs but can affect almost any part of the body, and if left untreated, can be fatal. The disease is the 13th leading cause of death worldwide and is the deadliest infectious disease in the world, with 1.3 million deaths recorded in 2022, and more than 95 percent occurring in developing countries, according to the Partners in Health website.
The Partners in Health website states that people consider tuberculosis as a disease of the past because of its peak in the 18th and 19th centuries, so it does not get media attention despite its deadly effects.
“People treat TB differently, oftentimes depending on your socioeconomic status and your access to health care,” junior Kaitlyn Burkhardt, the advocacy lead for GW PIH, said. “The End TB Now Act aims to reduce that disparity by making a standard of care letting people know that this is how you should be treating TB, and then holding people accountable for that treatment.”
The bill states support that the objectives set in 2015 by the World Health Organization End TB Strategy, which includes goals like curbing the number of tuberculosis cases diagnosed by 80 percent by 2030 and protecting all families affected by tuberculosis from “catastrophic costs” by 2030. The strategy outlines a global standard of care that involves patient-centered care and increased research and innovation that the U.S.-funded foreign assistance programs must meet to fight tuberculosis.
Burkhardt added that the organization’s advocacy efforts this year are centralized around contacting members of Congress, and said they have been “pestering” representatives with emails and calls as well as meeting with members of Congress directly. Burkhardt said she held half-hour meetings with six members of Congress, including Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) — who has confirmed he supports the bill — and Sen. Cory Booker’s (D-NJ) team, in recent months to discuss the bill.
The GW organization also participated in PIH’s annual Hill Day on Aug. 12, where members of all chapters meet with members of Congress and learn about the organization’s annual health care issue of focus so they can lobby lawmakers. On this year’s Hill Day, Burkhardt said PIH held 129 congressional meetings, and six weeks later, the End TB Now Act passed in the Senate.
Burkhardt said the organization’s goal was for the End TB Now Act to reach the House floor before the current session of Congress ended, but that did not occur. She said the organization will try to keep their momentum up until the session reconvenes in November by continually meeting with and contacting members of Congress.
She said the national organization chooses a new monetary fundraising goal for all chapters to contribute toward each year. Although PIH has been advocating for tuberculosis care since the inception of their organization, they decided to focus their fundraising efforts on tuberculosis as well this year, Burkhardt said.
Burkhardt said last year, the national and GW chapters of PIH raised money for the Maternal Center for Excellence in Sierra Leone. Through nationwide fundraising efforts, the nonprofit was able to provide 24-hour electricity, training for clinicians, a fully stocked pharmacy and a blood bank at the facility, according to their website.
She said the organization hopes to raise money through fundraising events like bake sales and bracelet-making events for X-rays, drugs used for treatment of tuberculosis and nutritional aid.
“We’ve known how to treat it and how to prevent it for about 100 years now,” Burkhardt said. “Its progression around the world is less so its pathology and more so man-made and due to poverty and social injustice around the world.”
Junior Emmie Then, the fundraising lead for GW PIH, said the chapter’s first general body meeting of the academic year Sept. 9 was dedicated to educating new and current members about the disease. She said they discussed the history of tuberculosis, relevant statistics and the relevance of the End TB Now Act.
Then said GW PIH plans to spread their message to a broader audience through fundraising activities around campus, including a bake sale in Kogan Plaza on Oct. 25 and a potential tie dye or bracelet-making event. Then said the proceeds from these events will go to the umbrella Partners in Health organization.
GW PIH is also planning to invite a professor from the Milken School of Public Health to speak about tuberculosis and global health care, she said.
If the End TB Now Act passes, Then said the organization plans to focus on the Paul Farmer Memorial Resolution, named after the founder of Partners in Health. The bill would reduce unnecessary and preventable deaths, promote universal health care and increase global health spending, she said.
Then said she “appreciates” the approach Partners in Health follows to carry out their mission and how they “push for healthcare as a human right.”
“They’re not just a savior complex organization,” she said. “They go in, they help educate, they help grow, and then once they’re able to have that specific area succeed on their own, then they take a step back to allow them to have that growth opportunity.”
Sophomore Lena Fortun, the team coordinator of GW PIH, said the chapter recently engaged in public health initiatives in Foggy Bottom to distribute STI kits to members of the community.
“We volunteered with Whitman Walker Health and made over 600 home STI testing kits that will be distributed to the people of D.C. to use, which is a big public health initiative, and it aligns with our pillars of accessibility to quality health care for everyone, regardless of price,” Fortun said.
