IFCR-Lilly Agreement will Allow More Tuberculosis Program Funding

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (Geneva, Switzerland) and Eli Lilly and Company (Indianapolis, IN) have signed an agreement that will allow an eight-fold increase in the number of International Federation-supported programs to fight multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) over the next four years.

Lilly’s $1.6 million contribution will finance programs between 2008 and 2011. In 2008 alone, the International Federation will expand its support to 10 additional MDR-TB programs in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Romania, Georgia, Kenya, Mozambique, and South Africa, for a total of 14 MDR-TB programs. The first phase of the International Federation and Lilly MDR-TB Program was implemented from 2004 to 2007 in three pilot countries.

Red Cross and Red Crescent TB programs include providing patients with care, food and support, educating the community about the spread and symptoms of tuberculosis, detecting new cases through surveillance, and addressing the stigma associated with the disease.