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UN member states agreed Friday to strengthen plans to eradicate TB, as the infectious disease is back.
In preparation for the first TB summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, UN Member States reported progress in a joint statement after settling a dispute with the United States over access to medicines generic.
South Africa rejected attempts by the United States to delete parts of the draft agreement, including an article stressing "the importance of separating the cost of investment in research and development. development of price and sales volume "save drugs. EU negotiators have also challenged the language.
The changes encouraged by the United States could have access to affordable life-saving medicines by keeping drug prices beyond the budgets of poorer countries.
Affordable treatment
The main objective of the agreement is to consolidate support for to end tuberculosis
epidemic
Sharonann Lynch, a policy advisor for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said that while the final declaration was an improvement over previous iterations, world leaders still needed to take action and implement the plan.
"Heads of state must now go to the United Nations High Level Meeting on Tuberculosis and exercise their rights to protect public health from the profits of pharmaceutical companies" he said.
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Tuberculosis has re-emerged, in part due to lack of access to life-saving medicines
Global increase of tuberculosis
The World Health Organization – the UN's public health agency – announced last year that TB has surpassed HIV / AIDS as the world's leading infectious disease. In 2016, tuberculosis killed 1.7 million people.
China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan and India, which account for about a quarter of all global cases, include the most affected countries.
"Without treatment, TB can be fatal," says the Mayo Clinic, based in the United States. "The increase in drug-resistant strains of bacteria is another major cause of tuberculosis."
ls / sms (AFP, Reuters)
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