The Marshall Islands parliament has passed its fiscal year 2012 national budget of 132 million US dollars.
The budget has added funding for TB and leprosy control programmes demanded by the United States government.
No funding for TB and leprosy programmes was included in the original budget plan despite these being major health concerns in both the Marshall Islands and the United States, where thousands of Marshall Islanders now live.
The Marshall Islands budget shows the country is heavily reliant on the United States and Taiwan, which together are providing 70 percent of the national budget.
The Marshall Islands fiscal year starts on October the 1st.
