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More than one-third of the world's population is infected with the TB bacterium, and nearly 1.7 million people die from the disease every year. Rapid and accurate diagnosis of TB is notoriously difficult, and TB treatment is long and challenging for both patients and their families.
The grant to the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development will support late-stage clinical trials for new drugs that offer the potential to shorten the duration of TB treatment, to work against drug-resistant TB, and to be safely administered with anti-retrovirals to people with HIV/AIDS. USAID has committed $3 million for the first year of this grant, and the total funding over five years could reach up to $40 million.
The grant to the International Union Against TB and Lung Disease will focus on field evaluations of diagnostic techniques for TB, clinical trials and operations research to improve patient management and treatment efficacy, and infection control measures for TB and multi-drug resistant TB. This grant will emphasize the translation of research results into global and national policy. USAID has committed $3.7 million for the first year, and the total award over five years could reach up to $80 million.
"Tuberculosis remains a major public health threat," said Dr. Kent Hill, USAID's Assistant Administrator for Global Health. "New tools are urgently needed to combat this scourge, and USAID is committed to bringing new tools to the field, including drugs, diagnostics, and improved approaches to manage the disease, including multi-drug resistant and extensively drug resistant TB."
USAID is the largest single-country bilateral donor for TB; since 1998, it has provided more than $777 million to global TB control programs. USAID currently assists TB programs in 40 countries provided approximately $162 million of FY 2008 funds to support international TB control efforts and research activities.
For more information about USAID and its global health programs, please visit www.usaid.gov.
