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		World TB day Tuesday, 25 March 2003 Yesterday (Monday 24 March) was World Tuberculosis (TB) Day. Tuberculosis causes about 2 million deaths a year, about 98% in developing countries. There is also concern about the rising cases of TB here in the UK, which has led to the reinstatement of the national vaccination programme. The EU has channelled €28m into TB drug and vaccine research in the last four years. East Midlands MEP Roger Helmer, who is shadowing a report on the world's top 3 killers - TB, Malaria and AIDS- for the Conservative group in Parliament on Thursday, has welcomed recommendations for more money for research into this. Speaking from Parliament Conservative Euro-MP Roger Helmer said: "AIDS, Malaria and TB collectively kill more than 5 million people per year, 95% of whom are from the developing world. "The availability of new drugs is vital for the developing world, both in terms of physical availability and financial availability. We support this report as a means of achieving that and hope that it will act as a dynamic stimulus to the research into AIDS, Malaria and TB. "Although there are many diseases affecting different parts of the developing world, we are right to concentrate on these three prolific killers at this time within these budget constraints. It draws together key partners and I hope it will focus on genuine development in tackling these killer diseases. "World TB day highlights the need for continued research into this killer disease. We must now concentrate on making sure that this research is delivered on-time, within budget and adds real value to advancements in this field."