Monday will see the launch of two crucial health initiatives which will provide a valuable shot in the arm to the global crusade againt the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic.
A joint announcement will be made by FIND, the Stop TB Partnership, UNITAID and WHO.TB is one of the world's leading killers - second only to HIV/AIDS - with over 1.5 million deaths and nearly 9 million people falling seriously ill with the disease every year. Almost half a million people a year develop multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), a dangerous form of TB that is difficult to treat with standard drugs.
The spread of drug-resistant strains, especially the recent emergence of virtually untreatable extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB), threatens to push TB control back into a pre-antibiotic era.
The event will take place at the Salle III, Palais des Nations, Geneva, and the announcement will be made by Dr Mario Raviglione, Director, Stop TB Department, WHO, Dr Jorge Bermudez, Executive Secretary, UNITAID, Dr Giorgio Roscigno, Chief Executive Officer, FIND and Robert Matiru, General Manager, Global Drug Facility, Stop TB Partnership. (ANI)
Source-ANI
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