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| Wilson Working for Tuberculosis Funding |
March 28, 2006 |
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9 Million People Diagnosed Yearly with TB
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Heather Wilson today announced she is an original cosponsor of the bipartisan Stop Tuberculosis (TB) Now Act of 2006 to combat the 9 million new cases Tuberculosis worldwide each year.
“Tuberculosis is a national and international public health concern,” Wilson said. “Treating TB in other countries helps to reduce the incidence in the United States.”
The bill, introduced today by Rep. Sherrod Brown, D-OH, builds on last year’s efforts in the House. Rep. Wilson was the lead Republican cosponsor with Rep. Brown on similar legislation last year, and continues to work to raise the profile of this problem in Congress.
About 2 million people die from the disease annually, and about 50 countries now receive assistance from the U.S., mostly in Africa and South Asia. Cases of TB diagnosed in the U.S. continue to fall, but there are still about 50 cases each year in New Mexico.
This legislation would enact into law the principles outlined in the Global Plan to Stop TB 2006-2015. This legislation directs U.S. foreign assistance to give priority to Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS) regimens to help prevent multidrug resistant TB, and to allocate at least $15 million each year to the Global TB Drug Facility (GDF) to carry out such cost-effective treatments. The legislation authorizes $225 million in U.S. global TB assistance for Fiscal Year 2007, and $260 million in FY 2008. The legislation also authorizes $30 million in FY 2007 and a similar amount in FY 2008 for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to carry out global TB activities.
“The issue of multi-drug resistant TB is a growing concern worldwide, but is particularly important for border states, like New Mexico,” Wilson said.
Last year, Wilson announced her support for anti-TB legislation in Albuquerque at the New Mexico Tuberculosis summit, a meeting of state health officials, border health authorities, health care companies and others – an event organized by Wilson’s office and RESULTS New Mexico, a grassroots advocacy organization committed to ending TB around the world.
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.
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