Written question asked by Julie Morgan (Labour) on Wednesday, 17 March 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 22 March 2010. It was answered by Michael John Foster (Labour) on Monday, 22 March 2010 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Developing Countries: Tuberculosis

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to ensure the provision of high quality healthcare services to tackle tuberculosis in the next five years.

Answer: The Department for International Development (DFID) combats tuberculosis through our contributions to multilateral organisations such as the World Health Organisation; partnerships like STOP TB and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM); bilateral programmes; and DFID's support for research.DFID has pledged £1 billion from 2008 to 2015 to GFATM, which estimates that it has supported the detection and treatment of 5.4 million people with TB. In addition, we have a 20-year commitment of up to €60 million per year by 2010 to UNITAID, which by 2011 is aiming to triple access to rapid tests for multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB and reduce the price MDR-TB medicines by 25 per cent. The UK is also investing £6 billion up to 2015 to improve health systems in developing countries, essential to improving the quality, availability and accessibility of health services, particularly by the most poor and vulnerable, including those with TB.

Secondary information