ABOUT

OUR MEMBERS

The APPG has one chair and four vice-chairs:

HISTORY

2005-2010

The APPG TB was founded by Rt Hon Nick Herbert MP (Conservative), Andrew George (Liberal Democrat), and Julie Morgan AM (Labour) following a parlaimentary trip to Kenya with RESULTS UK in 2005.  The APPG worked closely with the APPGs on HIV and Malaria across the parliament and played a key role in securing pledges on the Global Fund in the 2010 manifestos.

2010-2015

Julie Morgan was not returned to parliament after the 2010 election and the APPG was chaired by Andrew George following Nick Herbert’s appointment as a Minister.  Nick returned as APPG co-chairman in 2013 alongside Virendra Sharma MP as Labour co-chairman.

The APPG focused on the Global Fund throughout much of the early part of the parliament and helped secure a £1bn pledge from the UK government in December 2013.  Work on TB in the UK helped secure a new van for Find & Treat and the launch of the Collaborative TB Strategy for England in February 2015.

The APPG was instrumental in securing manifesto pledges from two of the major parties on R&D and infectious diseases.

2015

In November 2015 the Government followed the Conservative Party’s manifesto pledge with the creation of the Ross Fund, a commitment to spend £1 billion over the next five years on research and development for infectious disease.

The APPG closely followed the work of the independent Review on Antimicrobial Resistance commissioned by the former Prime Minister. In May 2016, its final report set out ten recommendations and noted that: “Tackling TB and drug-resistant TB must be at the heart of any global action against AMR.  The burden of TB is too great, and the need for new treatments too urgent”. AMR is now firmly on the global health agenda and the APPG continues to monitor the UK’s engagement through the G20, UN and WHO.

2016

Through a series of questions, debates, events and representations to DFID over 2016, the APPG was heavily involved in the Fifth Replenishment of the Global Fund. Noting the importance of parliamentary support, in September the Government announced a significant increase in its contribution to the Fund with a pledge of £1.1 billion.

2017

The All-Party Parliamentary Group visited India, with co-chair Virendra Sharma MP meeting with Indian PM Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to discuss Indo-British efforts to End TB.

The APPG organised Early Day Motion 1070, recognising progress made in the fight against TB and calling for renewed efforts, particularly on R&D.

APPG Co-Chair Nick Herbert MP attended the WHO Ministerial Summit on TB in Moscow on behalf of the Global TB Caucus. The meeting and its declaration laid the foundations for the forthcoming UN High Level Meeting on TB.

2018

The APPG hosted a World TB Day reception. The Secretary of State for International Development, the Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP spoke at the meeting, celebrating progress made in the fight against TB, particularly thanks to the UK’s leadership on TB research, and pledging to redouble efforts to end TB ahead of the UN High Level Meeting.

The APPG co-ordinated a letter to the Prime Minister, encouraging her to prioritise the fight against TB and asking her to demonstrate the UK’s leadership by attending the forthcoming UN High Level Meeting in person. The letter secured cross-party support, with over 100 signatures.

2019

The APPG hosted a World TB Day reception in Speakers House, at which DFID Minister Alistair Burt spoke about progress since the UN High Level Meeting and ongoing efforts to deliver the commitments made there. The event brought together stakeholders from across the UK, including a moving address from an MDR-TB doctor, Dr Emily Wise. The APPG was also successful in securing a Westminster Hall Debate, which pressed the government to take greater action and ensure a successful replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria later that year.

The APPG launched a report following its inquiry into the national TB response and the implementation of the National TB Strategy for England, which is set to expire in 2020. The recommendations were welcomed by stakeholders and are now being used by Public Health England to inform a post-2020 TB Action Plan.

The APPG worked with colleagues of the APPG on HIV/AIDS and Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases to campaign for a successful replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.  Following a series of letters, meetings, public events and interventions on the floor of the House fo Commons, the UK Government pledged a record-breaking £1.4 billion at the sixth replenishment of the Global Fund in Lyon, France.

2020

The APPG launched its inquiry into TB and Global Health R&D in April 2020, collecting written and oral evidence throughout the year. The report is due to be published in winter 2020.

The APPG is raising awareness of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the TB response globally, and working with colleagues across parliament to ensure increased UK support to mitigate the secondary impacts of the pandemic and leverage synergies between the COVID-19 and TB response to ensure the world ‘builds back better’ and is able to deliver on the commitments of the UN High-Level Meeting on TB.