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| Wilson: Tuberculosis Bills Planned |
March 29, 2005 |
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8 Million People Diagnosed Yearly with TB; Wilson Calls for Action
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Heather Wilson this week announced she will join Congressman Sherrod Broan (D-Ohio) in sponsoring two bipartisan bills to combat global and domestic Tuberculosis.
There are 8 million new cases of tuberculosis each year, and 2 million people die from the disease annually. About 50 countries now receive assistance from the U.S., mostly in Africa and South Asia.
“We should strengthen our commitment to tuberculosis and other diseases in poor countries,” said Wilson. “A commitment of $10 million would provide medicine to an additional 800,000 people.”
Wilson announced her support Monday at the New Mexico Tuberculosis summit, a meeting of state health officials, border health authorities, health care companies and others. The event was organized by Wilson’s office and RESULTS New Mexico, a grassroots advocacy organization committed to ending TB around the world.
Wilson is working to raise the profile of this problem in Congress, and is concerned with proposed budget cuts for malaria and TB. Cases diagnosed in the U.S. continue to fall, but there are still about 50 cases each year in New Mexico.
In January, Reps. Wilson and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, urged the U.S. Agency for International Development to commit $10 million to the Global Tuberculosis Drug Facility in 2005.
The Global Tuberculosis Drug Facility (GDF) provides low-cost tuberculosis drugs to poor countries around the world. The GDF encourages a regimen of drug treatment, thus safe-guarding against multi-drug resistant tuberculosis and further reducing the disease worldwide.
The United States provided $3 million for the GDF in 2004. In comparison, Canada provided more than $9 million for the GDF in 2004. Wilson urged a $10 million commitment to the GDF during the appropriations process last year, and the USAID has the authority to provide additional funding for the GDF within its budget.
The U.S. Agency for International Development is an independent agency that provides economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of the foreign policy goals of the United States.
"I would like to thank Congresswoman Wilson for her commitment to fighting tuberculosis globally," said Roxanne Allen of the Albuquerque chapter of RESULTS. "We appreciate her efforts to increase access to high-quality TB drugs around the world, and to draw the attention of Congress to this need."
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