Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent steps his Department has taken with the United Nations to help tackle (a) drug-resistant tuberculosis and (b) antimicrobial resistance.
The department actively contributed to the High Level Meeting on Tuberculosis held at the UN General Assembly last September, at which Lord Ahmad represented the UK. The UK's current £1billion commitment to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will support treatment for 41,800 people with Multi-Drug Resistant TB.
The UK funds major programmes and research to tackle Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), and strengthen health, water, sanitation, and hygiene systems. The High-Level Meeting on AMR is an excellent opportunity to catalyse global progress, set high ambitions across the One Health spectrum, and promote equitable access to and stewardship of antimicrobials.