§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development with which initiatives and at what cost Her Majesty's Government are helping Russia in relation to tuberculosis. [100082]
§ Clare ShortSince 1994 the Department for International Development (DFID) has been providing advice to the TB service in Tomsk oblast, comparing treatment methods recommended by the World Health Organisation with traditional Russian methods. As a result the Federal Ministry of Health has agreed to use Tomsk as a pilot site for TB treatment reform. We are discussing expanding this work to two further oblasts, Kemerovo and Samara, with the relevant regional authorities. In addition we are considering providing support for two further TB projects to be carried out under the auspices of the World bank and the World Health Organisation respectively.
The total cost of these interventions is likely to be around £2.5 million.