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World Health Organization to Fund Chuuk State's Participation in the Fourth Pacific Stop TB Meeting in Brisbane

Palikir, POHNPEI (FSM Information Services): January 31, 2008 - FSM President Mori has extended an invitation for Chuuk State TB Program laboratory technician Mr. Kasian Otoko to attend the Fourth Pacific Stop TB Meeting to be held in Brisbane, Australia from March 11-14. The opportunity is made possible by funding for the travel provided by the World Health Organization.

President Mori said that TB Control in the Pacific is still a priority due to a significant Tuberculosis burden, the emergence of multi drug resistant TB strains, and the increasing number of TB-HIV cases in several countries.

At the meeting the Pacific partners will discuss issues specific to countries without Global Fund Support to strengthen the commitment to Tuberculosis control throughout the Pacific. The meeting will be hosted by the Queensland Mycobacterium Reference Laboratory of Australia, a WHO collaborating center and a close partner in the Pacific TB Laboratory Initiative.