Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to help tackle (a) tuberculosis and (b) other illnesses.

The UK has played a significant role with international counterparts to tackle tuberculosis (TB) in recent decades.

Since 2002, TB deaths have been reduced by 36 per cent in countries where the Global Fund invests. The UK is a leading donor to the Global Fund and will this year co-host the 8th replenishment of the Global Fund together with South Africa.

We have also worked through our support to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The UK is an important investor in product development partnerships such as the TB Alliance, contributing to the development of the new BPaLM/BPAL regimen for multi-drug resistant TB.

The UK also works with international counterparts to tackle a wide range of illnesses, including TB, through our support to the World Health Organisation, Unitaid, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and other multilateral and bilateral health programming.