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Written Answers to Questions

Tuesday 13 July 2004

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Crop Spraying

Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proposals she has to ensure that there is adequate advance notice and on-site warning of crop-spraying adjacent to public footpaths. [183497]

Alun Michael: As I confirmed in my announcement on 16 June, a pilot study will be set up to explore how residents living next to farms and those using footpaths through fields can be told of pesticide use.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Essential Medicines

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions his Department has had internationally on increasing access to essential medicine in the developing world. [183077]

Hilary Benn: The lack of access to essential medicines in the developing world is one of the most pressing global health issues. Tackling this could save millions of lives a year.

The UK Government is committed to significantly improving access to essential medicines in developing countries. The factors recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that can improve poor people's access to medicines are: affordable pricing, sustainable financing, reliable health and supply systems, and the rational selection and use of essential drugs. Research and development for new products is also critical, particularly if access is to be sustained over the longer term.

The Prime Minister established a high level UK Working Group on Increasing Access to Essential Medicines in the Developing World in 2001, chaired by Clare Short. There were representatives on the Group from developing countries, pharmaceutical companies, charitable foundations, the European Union (EU), WHO, DFID and other UK Government departments. The Group reported to the Prime Minister in late 2002 with recommendations focusing on widespread differential pricing of medicines for developing countries and increased research and development to meet the health needs of poor people in those countries. Seven Government departments have been working together to take forward these recommendations and related areas of activity.
 
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The recently issued paper Increasing access to essential medicines in the developing world: UK Government policy and plans' sets out progress so far. It also outlines next steps in four areas:

Support to developing countries through the UK development assistance programme, with a focus on increasing poor people's access to health services;

Trade policy, focusing on supporting developing countries in understanding and making use of the flexibilities within World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules governing intellectual property;

Engagement with the business community, focusing on work with the pharmaceutical industry, to address the long term supply of affordable medicines to developing countries;

Efforts—in the UK and internationally—to stimulate increased research and development into new medicines and other healthcare products relevant to developing country needs.

The UK Government is in regular dialogue with pharmaceutical companies—in particular the British and American Pharmaceutical Groups—their investors, non-governmental organisations, international agencies and donors, research institutions, and of course governments and other stakeholders in developing countries. In addition, written comments were solicited from a broad range of stakeholders on the consultation draft of the recent policy paper.

The UK Government also discusses access to medicines internationally. Highlights from the past year—in which the UK played an active part—include:

Commitments made by the G8 in Evian last year to strengthen the framework for differential pricing of medicines and increased research and development, and an additional commitment made in Sea Island this year to establish a global HIV vaccine enterprise;

Agreement of an EU Regulation to try and prevent diversion of affordably priced medicines away from developing countries and into the EU;

The establishment by the World Health Assembly of a WHO Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health (due to report in 2006);

The Decision last August by the WTO General Council on mechanisms to allow countries with no or insufficient pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity to import generic copies of patented essential medicines, in order to meet their public health needs.

India

Laura Moffatt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the implications of the spread of AIDS in India. [183376]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: India has a total population of 1.07 billion people, of which half are in the 15 to 49 year old age group. Data from the most recent HIV surveillance exercise undertaken by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has just been released. It is considered the most reliable of various data sources, and estimates that 5.1 million people were infected with HIV at the end of 2003. This represents an HIV prevalence rate in the adult population of 0.9 per cent. India therefore remains a low prevalence country. Of the estimated 5.1 million cases, 59 per cent. are rural, while 41 per cent. are urban. Women account for 36 per cent. of infections. Six high prevalence states account for over 84 per cent. of the AIDS cases reported in India since the
 
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beginning of the epidemic. These are Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and the two North-Eastern States of Nagaland and Manipur.

The recent surveillance data highlights the following:

There is a fall in the rate of growth of HIV infections in India.

No moderate or low prevalence state has moved into a higher category.

Early signs of stabilisation of HIV infections in the high prevalence states.

This is encouraging, but challenges remain. The HIV/AIDS epidemic in India is still considered to be "concentrated", with injecting drug users, commercial sex workers and men who have sex with men recording much higher HIV infection rates than the general population. However, NACO is aware of the risk of the epidemic moving into the general population.

In 2001, DFID India committed support of £123 million to the Government of India's National AIDS Control Programme, to be disbursed over five years. The main aim of the programme is to reach out to the communities at high risk (sex workers, men having sex with men, injectable drug users etc.) with innovative programmes to contain the spread of the disease. Targeted interventions are specifically designed to reach out to these hard to reach vulnerable groups where the prevalence of disease is highest.

The programme also includes support to the BBC World Service Trust for media campaigns to raise awareness in the general public. In addition, DFID supports the UN theme group coordinated by UNAIDS to strengthen its role in prevention of HIV/AIDS in India. UNAIDS benefits from DFID support to strengthen its capacity as secretariat for all United Nations HIV initiatives in India.

Reproductive Health

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress the Government have made towards meeting the Millennium Development Goal on reproductive health by 2015; and if he will make a statement. [183663]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: While there is not a Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for reproductive health, we remain firmly committed to the target agreed at the 1994 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development of achieving access to reproductive health for all by 2015. DFID believes that population and reproductive health issues are fundamental to efforts to tackle poverty and achieve the MDGs. Reproductive health especially embraces three health related MDGs—those to reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, and to combat and prevent HIV/AIDS as well as tackling income poverty and gender inequality. Without progress in improving access to reproductive health it is unlikely that these MDGs will be met.

There is much progress since 1994 to celebrate—countries have turned ICPD commitments into policies and action, increased access to a range of family planning options, and in some countries cut maternal deaths. But still too many poor women, men and young people in developing countries are denied their right to
 
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sexual and reproductive health. 120 million couples do not have access to the family planning services and contraception they need. Every year, 529,000 women die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth and three million children die in the first week of life. Millions live with HIV and sexually transmitted bacterial infections that are mainly preventable.

On Tuesday 6 June, the Secretary of State launched DFID's Position Paper on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. It describes progress to date and sets out what remains to be done. It will form the basis for planning our future investment and activities and our work with partners. The same day the Secretary of State announced increased funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The UK will be providing £80 million over four years (2004–07) in core funding to UNFPA to support its work on sexual and reproductive health and rights, population and development, and gender. UNFPA's work is also a critical part of HIV/AIDS prevention efforts within the framework of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

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