Good news! A revitalisation of the Australian TB Caucus is currently underway!
In case you didn't know, the Australian TB Caucus (ATBC) brings together Members of the House of Representatives and Senators with a keen interest in the issue of tuberculosis (TB) and how Australia can best secure support and expertise to contribute to the global elimination of the disease.
The group holds meetings to brief members on the most up-to-date issues surrounding TB and opportunities for action and engagement.
Who's who of the new members of the Australian TB Caucus
Sharon Claydon, Federal Member for Newcastle (Australian Labor Party) and current member of the Australian TB Caucus, has been newly appointed as Co-Chair of the Australian TB Caucus. Thanks, Sharon!
New to the Australian TB Caucus are:
- Josh Burns, Member for Macnamara (Australian Labor Party)
- Ged Kearney, Member for Cooper, VIC (Australian Labor Party)
- Senator Jess Walsh, Senator for VIC (Australian Labor Party)
- Dave Sharma, Member for Wentworth, NSW (Liberal Party of Australia)
- Adam Bandt, Member for Melbourne, VIC (Greens)
- David Smith, Member for Bean, ACT (Australian Labor Party)
- Pat Conroy, Member for Shortland, NSW (Australian Labor Party)
RESULTS Australia and the Co-Chairs of The Australian TB Caucus thank the new members for their support and endorsement of our programs that will help to potentially save a further 16 million lives from TB.
Co-Chairs, Warren Entsch MP, Federal Member for Leichardt and Sharon Claydon MP, Federal Member for Newcastle have recently written to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, seeking his support to an increase in the Global Fund Pledge to AU $300 million in the lead-up to the Global Fund Replenishment in October 2019.
A motion in the House of Representatives and the Senate is due to take place in September 2019 that acknowledged the impact that the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has had.
What is the Global Fund?
Importantly, this is a year of replenishment to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (The Global Fund). The Global Fund is a partnership designed to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics. It invests more than US$4 billion a year to support programs run by local experts in more than 100 countries. In 2002, the Global Fund saved an estimated 27 million lives, supported antiretroviral treatment for 17.5 million people with HIV; and enabled treatment of five million people with TB and the distribution of 197 million bed nets to prevent malaria.
The future of the TB epidemic could be grim unless urgent action is taken. Experts estimate that as many as 75 million additional people could die by 2050 due to the continued development of drug-resistant strains of TB.
Where TB exists in the world
More than 60 per cent of the burden of TB is in the Asia Pacific region and one million people in Australia are estimated to have a latent (dormant) form of TB.
The Australian TB Caucus will be working to bring together to secure support and expertise to contribute to the global effort of elimination of the disease, including taking advocacy actions to raise the profile of TB in the Parliament and to encourage international governments to increase the funding needed to end the disease by 2035.
RESULTS Australia looks forward to working with the Australian TB Caucus, focusing on the Asia Pacific region and increasing parliamentary awareness about tuberculosis and its impact.
Written by Shiva Shrestha