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Parliamentarians and advocates united to fight TB

23 March 2016 Media Release

New Zealand Parliamentarians and advocates united in fighting our region’s biggest infectious killer

The deadliest disease in human history, Tuberculosis (TB), has gained new champions in New Zealand in time for the 24th of March, World TB Day.

A coalition of Parliamentarians and advocates has been raising awareness about the issues of TB, with MPs from all parties coming together to voice their concern about this forgotten illness.

“Tuberculosis has now overtaken HIV and AIDS to be the world’s deadliest infectious disease, killing about 1.5 million people a year,” said Louisa Wall MP, Member for Manurewa. “It is airborne, infectious, drug-resistant, and found in every country in the world.”

Leading experts have predicted that by 2050, evolving strains of drug-resistant TB could claim an additional 75 million lives, at the global cost of $16.7 trillion.

“We know that New Zealand Māori features highly in new TB diagnoses every year as a result of social health determinants, poverty and poor housing” said Marama Pala, Executive Director/ Kaiwhakahaere of INA (Māori, Indigenous & South Pacific) HIV & AIDS Foundation.

In 2015, Ms Wall joined parliamentarians from the Asia Pacific and founded the Asia Pacific TB Caucus, the first parliamentary regional network under the Global TB Caucus. The Global TB Caucus is a worldwide network of parliamentarians that in the past year has grown to become one of the biggest networks of its kind in the world, boasting support from over 1,000 parliamentarians in over 100 countries.

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“Globally TB causes the death of 500,000 women each year, making it a deadly epidemic for women of reproductive age and the leading cause of death in women living with HIV,” said Ms Pala.

The Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria distributes almost 80% of the international funding for TB.

Since 2001, programs supported by the Global Fund have put 8.6 million people on antiretroviral therapy for AIDS, have tested and treated 15 million people for TB, and have distributed 600 million insecticide-treated nets to protect families against malaria.

“New Zealand punches above our weight when it comes to world class researchers who are trying to create desperately needed new drug treatments, diagnostics and a new vaccines”, said Ms Wall.

“We need to provide more funding for their medical research and as a leader in our region, we need to step up and join our neighbours and invest in the Global Fund.”

ends

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