The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) recently initiated the White House’s National Action Plan for Combatting Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB).
To make the plan a success, USAID has partnered with several prestigious health care companies. The partnerships will provide USAID will the latest technology and additional resources for fighting MDR-TB.
“Building on existing efforts and mandates, the plan articulates the U.S. government’s comprehensive strategy for addressing TB and puts us on a path to reverse the spread of this obstinate disease at home and worldwide,”
Alfonso Lenhardt, USAID’s deputy administrator, said.
The leaders from worldwide partners, global stakeholders, and local government agencies gathered in Washington, D.C. to commemorate the event. This plan shows there is significant progress in striving to fight MDR-TB and extensively drug-resistant TB on a worldwide scale.
The event included several presentations from Dr. John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Dr. Ariel Pablos-Mndez, USAID’s assistant administrator for global health; Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; and Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were also two special video messages given by Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
