Brussels, 18/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - In a report published on 12 November, Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) is critical of the low level of Community and national funding for research into tuberculosis (TB), when there is a global epidemic that claims 1.7 million lives a year. MSF says that €1.45 billion needs to be spent on research into this disease, and that €409 million would be a fair contribution from the EU. In 2007, the European Commission devoted a mere €18.7 million to TB research. Member states do no better: Germany spent barely 7.5 million in 2007. In general terms, the European Union totally neglects tropical diseases, MSF says, noting that, in 2007, only €17.1 million was devoted to malaria, and not a penny went to research on Leishmaniasis or Chagas, although these diseases affect millions of people in developing countries.
The MSF report can be found at http://www.msfaccess.org (O.J./transl.rt)