1 April 2009 - Santo Domingo - HE Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, First Lady of the Dominican Republic and HE Rafael Alburquerque, the country’s Vice President, were present at the launch of a national Stop TB Partnership here today. In a speech at the launch, HE Dr Bautista Rojas, Minister of Health, praised the Global Drug Facility for its role in improving access to anti-TB drugs and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for the technical assistance it has provided to the Dominican Republic.
As part of the launch Mrs Melba Segura de Grullón, President of Sur Futuro, a foundation devoted to fighting poverty, was appointed as a national Stop TB Ambassador. A Stop TB Committee - in which affected community groups, the private sector, NGOs, PAHO, the Global Fund and USAID are represented - was also established. Dr Marcos Espinal, Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership, was honoured by the First Lady during the opening ceremony.