26/03/07 - On a visit to the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa organized by RESULTS CANADA,
TBSP's Paul Thorn praised Canada for its past contributions to the Global
Drug Facility (GDF). However he said that it was important that the county's
contribution was at least maintained, even scaled-up, else drug-resistance
threatened to undo the gains made in TB contol, care and cure.
The GDF is a mechanism that was started with Canadian funding in 2001. It
supplies affordable and high-quality drugs through large scale purchasing
making treatment for TB, and especially MDR-TB, available to the most
resource-poor countries of the world. After its first four years the GDF has
supplied over four million treatments to over 60 countries. This World TB
Day 2007 marked the GDF's sixth anniversary and it has now supplied over
eight million life saving treatments through its grant and direct
procurement services.
Continuing support of Canada's contribution, of on average $20 million per
year, is essential for the originally intended decade of the GDF's mandate.
I.e., another four years from 2007 until 2010. TBSP's Paul Thorn asked that
Canada assures that this extraordinarily effective contribution to control
TB globally continues addressing TB/MDR-TB in the most resource-poor
countries of the world.
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