Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

(—) (): Australia has one of the lowest infection rates for TB in the world. It is a disease that we have beaten along with smallpox and polio, but it continues to strain the health systems and take lives especially in the countries in our region—on our very doorstep in Papua New Guinea, particularly in the Western Province, which is very worrying given the re-emergence of drug-resistant TB. The World Health Organization estimates close to half a million cases of drug-resistant TB are occurring every year. Also worrying is the fact that only one in four cases are actually diagnosed and, even more worrying, only one in 10 cases are actually successfully treated. It strains the health systems of our neighbours—for example, Kiribati has the fifth largest incident rate per capita. (Time expired)