Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to tackle tuberculosis overseas.

The UK Government is helping lower and lower middle income countries achieve the ambitious 2035 targets of WHO’s End TB Strategy. We do so by increasing access to, and use of, effective diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis, including drug resistant TB. The Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria is the principal mechanism the UK uses to finance our contribution to combat TB. We have pledged up to £1.1 billion for 2017-2019 to this Fund, which will support treatment for 800,000 people with TB. We also invest in research and product development into more effective diagnosis and treatment. Finally, we support countries to strengthen health systems that can deliver quality TB programmes.