WASHINGTON—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement regarding the White House’s new National Action Plan for Combating Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis:

“In the last generation we've made tremendous strides in the fight against tuberculosis. We know how to diagnose this disease, and we know how to cure it. Yet in the last year, one and a half million people—including 140,000 children—died from TB, nearly 10 million people became infected, and nearly half a million developed multidrug-resistant TB.

“The drug-resistant strains of this disease pose a particular challenge and demand our focus. I applaud the Administration for making this effort a priority, and I hope Congress will provide the resources necessary to defeat the world’s number-one infectious killer.”

Background:

Ranking Member Engel authored the Stop TB Now Act of 2007, which provided critically needed resources to improve the availability of TB treatments and enhance countries’ ability to address TB among their populations. Significant portions of the bill were signed into law the following year as part of the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde U.S. Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act.

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