Measures attached to International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans may have contributed to a resurgence in tuberculosis in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Governments could be reducing funding for health services such as hospitals and clinics to meet strict IMF economic targets.
A study found that countries participating in IMF programs had seen tuberculosis death rates increase by at least 17 percent between 1991 and 2000, which is equivalent to more than 100,000 additional deaths. Nations that received money from institutions with less restrictive economic conditions saw a nearly 8 percent drop in tuberculosis death rates over the same period.