The End Tuberculosis Now Act of 2026 establishes a comprehensive framework for U.S. foreign assistance to aggressively combat tuberculosis globally, setting ambitious targets for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention by 2030.
Todd Young
Senator
IN
The End Tuberculosis Now Act of 2026 overhauls U.S. foreign assistance policy to make ending the global tuberculosis (TB) public health emergency a primary objective. It establishes aggressive 2030 targets for reducing TB incidence and mortality rates while prioritizing comprehensive diagnosis, treatment, and prevention strategies worldwide. The Act mandates robust monitoring, reporting, and coordination efforts to ensure accountability and accelerate progress against all forms of TB until its expiration in 2033.
End Tuberculosis Now Act Targets 90% Mortality Reduction and 30 Million Preventive Treatments by 2030
The End Tuberculosis Now Act of 2026 overhaul’s how the U.S. tackles one of the world’s oldest and deadliest infectious diseases. By amending the Foreign Assistance Act, this bill sets a hard deadline of January 1, 2033, for a massive push to find, treat, and prevent TB in high-burden countries. It isn’t just about sending money; it’s a strategic pivot toward 'person-centered' care, meaning the focus is on active case finding—actually going out and finding sick people—rather than waiting for them to show up at a clinic. The bill sets high-bar targets for 2030, including an 80% reduction in TB cases and a 90% drop in deaths, while aiming to get 30 million people onto preventive therapy.
Targeting the Toughest Cases
The bill prioritizes the most difficult aspects of the epidemic, specifically multidrug-resistant (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR-TB) strains. For a healthcare worker in a high-burden region, this means the U.S. will be prioritizing the deployment of molecular diagnostic networks—high-tech tools that can spot drug resistance much faster than traditional methods. Section 2 specifically mandates support for 'congregate settings' like prisons and hospitals, where TB spreads like wildfire. By focusing on these hotspots and ensuring a reliable supply of quality medicine through the Global Drug Facility, the bill aims to prevent the kind of supply chain breakdowns that lead to patients missing doses and developing even more resistant strains.
Research, Development, and the 'Kitchen Table' Connection
You might wonder why a bill focused on foreign assistance matters to someone working a 9-to-5 in the States. Beyond the obvious humanitarian goal, the bill directs the President to coordinate with domestic agencies to fast-track research into TB vaccines and new diagnostics. This is the 'moonshot' portion of the bill: it encourages private-sector engagement to develop shorter treatment cycles and telehealth solutions. For a patient, this could mean the difference between taking pills for nine months or just two. The bill also explicitly addresses 'cost barriers,' requiring monitoring of the out-of-pocket expenses that often bankrupt families dealing with the disease, even when the medicine itself is technically free.
Accountability and the 2033 Sunset
This legislation comes with a lot of homework for the government. There are three major layers of oversight: an annual activities report due every December 15, a specific annual research report on new tools, and a deep-dive evaluation by the GAO within four years. These reports have to track everything from how many people completed treatment to how much local governments are chipping in. However, it’s worth noting the 'Medium' vagueness in how the President determines the 'terms' of assistance. While this gives the administration flexibility to move fast, it also means a lot of power is concentrated in how those grants are written. All of these new rules and targets automatically expire on January 1, 2033, effectively putting Congress on a clock to prove these strategies actually work before the law reverts to its old, less-ambitious version.