Mr. Speaker, reports of an airline passenger with a case of extremely drug resistant TB have blanketed the media this past week.
XDR TB, as it is known, is a health emergency that demands attention.
Instead of singling out this one case, it is important that we remember the most meaningful way to curb drug resistant TB is to stop TB before it reaches this more dangerous form.
There are 1.6 million people who die every year from basic TB, a third of those in Africa. TB is the leading killer of people with HIV.
I was able to witness the extent of this tragedy firsthand during my visit to Kenya in January with RESULTS Canada and other parliamentarians. I met TB patients in overcrowded hospitals lying head to toe, two to a bed.
It does not need to be this way. TB, in its basic form, can be treated for about $20 Canadian. There is no need for the world's poorest to die of a disease like TB that can be managed and treated.
Canada must continue the fight against TB. The senseless deaths must be stopped.