USAID Launches White House National Action Plan on MDR-TB

On January 7, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) convened leaders from U.S. Government agencies and other global partners and stakeholders to launch the White House "National Action Plan for Combating Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB)" at an event in Washington, DC. The Plan is an important step forward in the global fight against MDR-TB and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB). “I am thrilled to help launch the National Action Plan for Combating Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis. 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. -- Ambassador Alfonso E. Lenhardt, USAID Deputy Administrator The well-attended event included presentations from Dr. Ariel Pablos-Méndez, USAID Assistant Administrator for Global Health; Dr. John Holdren, Director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Dr. Thomas Frieden, Director, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; as well as special video messages from Senator Sherrod Brownand Congressman Eliot Engel. USAID also announced new partnerships at the event with prominent healthcare companies to support the National Action Plan and add resources and cutting-edge technologies to fight drug-resistant TB. For more information, read the press release. Additional Resources Please visit the resources below to learn more about the event as well as USAID’s work in leading global efforts against drug-resistant TB. View photos from the event in our Facebook album. Explore an infographic on Fighting MDR-TB with Bedaquiline [PDF, 452KB]. Read a blog from Janssen on partnership with USAID to address the global threat of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Watch a message from actress Emma Thompson  on the End Tuberculosis Campaign. Read more about antimicrobial resistance and the threat of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Find out about USAID’s Bedaquiline donation program in partnership with Johnson and Johnson.