Experts Express Concern North Korea Running Out Of TB Medicines After Global Fund Withdrawal; Situation Compounded By U.S. Sanctions, Nonprofit Says

Associated Press: North Korea running low on TB meds, experts fear epidemic
“The withdrawal of a major international aid organization threatens to leave tens of thousands of tuberculosis patients in North Korea without the medication they need and could spiral into a severe crisis if it is not addressed soon, according to health experts familiar with the situation in the North. The dwindling stockpile of crucial medications follows the abrupt departure of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, an international aid organization whose grants to North Korea supported the treatment of 120,000 TB patients last year. Its support officially ended in June despite an outcry among health officials in North Korea and in the international community that it could spark a major epidemic. … The U.S.-based nonprofit Eugene Bell Foundation, which works on the ground treating tuberculosis in North Korea, said Friday that the crisis is being compounded by U.S.-led sanctions over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and missile program…” (Talmadge/Tong-Hyung, 11/16).

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