UK MPs in Kenya to witness Tuberculosis emergency firsthand

By Henry Neondo
Following the recent declaration of a tuberculosis (TB) emergency in Africa, a Parliamentary delegation, led by UK based advocacy organisation RESULTS is in Kenya to witness the scale of the TB epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa firsthand.
The visit coincides with the Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS TB and Malaria that is currently taking place in London from 5-7 September .
During the visit, John Barrett (Liberal Democrat, Edinburgh West)Member of the Select Committee for International Development. Andrew George (Liberal Democrat, St Ives & the Scilly Isles)Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for International Development. Nick Herbert (Conservative, Arundel & South Downs) and Julie Morgan (Labour, Cardiff North) are to meet Kenyan press today at a Nairobi Hotel.
Kenya currently ranks 10th in the WHO‘s list of countries with the highest burden of TB in the world.
According to WHO, the number of recorded TB cases has increased five-fold in the country over the past 10 years largely as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
It is estimated that almost one-third of TB patients in Kenya are co-infected with HIV.
During their time in Kenya, the UK MPs will visit TB and TB/HIV programmes in central Nairobi, Kibera ( one of the largest slums in Africa), Eldoret and the Nyanza province in Western Kenya.