§ 3. Mr. Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh, North and Leith)If the Government will press other G8 members to ensure more extensive concessions from the pharmaceuticals industry for poorer countries affected by AIDS. [137785]
§ The Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn)We are seeking to make essential drugs, including those for the treatment of HIV/AIDS, more widely available in developing countries. That includes working with G8 partners, developing country Governments, multilateral institutions, the pharmaceutical industry, investors and non-governmental organisations to encourage companies to reduce their prices.
§ Mr. LazarowiczThe agreement on the supply of cheap drugs was of course very welcome, and I pay tribute to the Government's part in achieving that. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will know, however, that some pharmaceutical interests in some countries are trying to limit the scope of the agreement that was arrived at. Does he agree that it is important that the poor and developing countries achieve maximum benefits from this agreement, and will he ensure that the Government work to achieve that in the continuing negotiations over its implementation?
§ Hilary BennMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. Having achieved this agreement, after the difficulties in securing its negotiation last December, it is important that the countries for which it is designed are able to make full and effective use of it. I assure him that the Government will continue to do all that we can both to support countries in building their capacity to make use of it and in making any necessary changes to our patent legislation in consultation with our European colleagues, to ensure that we have the framework in place, so that if requests are made for drugs to be exported from the UK, that can happen.
§ Mr. Andrew Robathan (Blaby)While accepting the enormous importance of anti-retroviral treatment, especially for mother-child transmission, does the Secretary of State agree that for countries that have very limited health resources, the example of Uganda shows that the most important factor in combating the AIDS pandemic is education and the behavioural change that can thereby be achieved?
§ Hilary BennThe hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. The right approach is, in truth, a combination of all those things. In Uganda, political leadership—from the President down—has resulted in real reductions in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in that country. That is an example of leadership that other countries would do well to follow. At the same time, the approach is about providing health support and better nutrition and also taking advantage of the opportunities for treatment that are available because the price of drugs is coming down. A combination of those things will give us the best prospect of supporting African countries, especially where the problem is so great, in tackling the enormous AIDS epidemic.
§ Linda Gilroy (Plymouth, Sutton)My right hon. Friend said in his initial reply that he is seeking to engage multinationals. Does that include multinationals that are not pharmaceutical companies because they have a great interest in the matter and need to build up their work forces? Will he say a little more about how he will try to engage such companies?
§ Hilary BennAs I have indicated, we are engaging the pharmaceutical companies because of the contribution that they can make to bring down the price of the medicines, and doing more research on the diseases to which we paid less attention in the past but that matter enormously to developing countries. My hon. Friend draws attention to what is happening in South Africa, for example, where several mining companies are making anti-retrovirals available to their work forces because they appreciate the benefit of that for not only the health care of their workers, but the impact on their productivity and ability to work. The public health challenge faced by the world and especially sub-Saharan Africa on HIV/AIDS means that there is increased understanding of the economic challenge. If HIV/AIDS is not tackled, the economic disaster that will affect countries will be significant.
§ Dr. Julian Lewis (New Forest, East)Now that progress has been made on gaining a supply of cheaper anti-AIDS drugs, will the Secretary of State tell us what the Government are doing to ensure that there is improved distribution among the target countries? Does he accept that the scale of the health problem probably compares with that which faced the allies when they liberated the concentration camps, and does he agree that it really requires effort on an international scale? What steps are the Government taking, and what will be the role of international organisations, especially the United Nations, in ensuring that the cheaper drugs are distributed to the people who desperately need them?
§ Hilary BennI welcome the hon. Gentleman to the Dispatch Box in his new capacity. In saying that he puts his finger on the real challenge, the answer to the question is that we should work with all international agencies and companies, including organisations such as the accelerating access initiative, which already has 150 arrangements in place in 56 countries. Donors, those who are concerned and those who provide money have to channel efforts in support of country-owned and country-led programmes. We do not want a multiplicity of people trying to do good. We want to focus our 274 energy on supporting country Governments, one AIDS commission and one AIDS programme so that we can ensure that we get the maximum benefit from the changes that he described.