Secretary Clinton’s Statement on World Tuberculosis Day – link

via Dipnote – U.S. Department of State Official Blog on 3/24/09 – link

Today marks World Tuberculosis Day. Secretary Clinton issued a statement, joining others around the world in saying “I am stopping TB.”

Tuberculosis (TB) kills almost 5,000 people each day and is the leading cause of death for people living with HIV/AIDS. The U.S. government is the largest contributor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, which has detected and treated over 4 million cases of TB. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is working to improve the diagnosis and treatment of TB for co-infected persons, and is engaged in infection control efforts to prevent new cases of TB. In addition, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has tuberculosis programs in more than 35 countries.

In her statement, Secretary Clinton said: “While much has been accomplished in the fight against this disease, there is still much more to be done if we are to meet the Millennium Development Goal of halting and reversing the spread of TB by 2015. I strongly believe the State Department should continue and expand its commitment to reducing the global burden of TB, and I look forward to working to improve the global response to this and other leading causes of death for the world’s poorest communities.”