§ 2. James Purnell (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab)If he will make a statement on the growth of HIV/AIDS in southern Asia. [151164]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Mr. Gareth Thomas)HIV/AIDS is a critical development issue for south Asia. At over 4 million, India has the second largest number of HIV infections of any country in the world. If current rates of growth continue, there may be 25 million people infected in that country alone by 2010. Although numbers of people infected with HIV in other south Asian countries remain low, the conditions are in place for a rapid increase in transmission without comprehensive action. The recent "Call for Action on HIV/AIDS", which the Government published on 1 December, recognises the importance of action in south Asia to achieve a more effective global response to this epidemic.
§ James PurnellI thank my hon. Friend for that answer. As he says, it is possible that by 2010 India will have more cases than anywhere else in the world. Does he agree that the world needs to focus as much on Asia as on Africa, because a similar potential tragedy is happening in Asia? In particular, what are the Government doing to work with the Indian 296 Government to reduce the impact on India, and with neighbouring countries to try to reduce the spread of this disease to Bangladesh and Pakistan?
Mr. ThomasMy hon. Friend is right: there is a window of opportunity at the moment to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in south Asia so that it does not reach the levels in sub-Saharan Africa in particular. We are funding the National AIDS Control Organisation of India to the tune of £123 million and are working with it closely on the design of a more effective strategy. We are also working closely with similar AIDS-control organisations in Pakistan and Bangladesh, and shortly will be doing the same in Nepal. South Asian countries themselves are beginning to recognise the importance of further work on HIV/AIDS. We need to see their Governments taking more of a lead in the fight to prevent discrimination and stigma from halting and inhibiting the fight against HIV/AIDS.
§ Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)In 2002, the Prime Minister pledged that Africa would be a priority in his second term of government. With an HIV/AIDS pandemic threatening in southern Asia, and with African populations devastated by HIV/AIDS, it is now time for the Prime Minister to turn his words into more decisive action. Does the Minister agree that making international development a priority of the United Kingdom presidencies of the EU and the G8 would give the international community the impetus it needs to preempt a disaster in southern Asia and make decisive, positive changes in Africa?
Mr. ThomasI am sure that the hon. Gentleman would want to congratulate this Government on the fact that there has been a sevenfold increase since 1997 in the amount of money we are spending to tackle the spread of HIV/AIDS. As he knows, we are committed to spending £1 billion in Africa by 2005–06. As for the £320 million that has not yet been allocated, we have said that we shall make HIV/AIDS a priority for that spend. I am sure that there will be further discussions about this during our presidencies of the G8 and the European Union.
§ Tony Worthington (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab)What steps are being taken to avoid making the mistakes in south Asia that were made in Africa? I am thinking particularly of mother-to-child transmission. What steps are being taken to ensure that reproductive health services and the AIDS services are brought closer together to stop the tragic transmission of HIV from mothers to children?
Mr. ThomasMy hon. Friend will be aware that the issue of mother-to-child transmission has been a big problem in the spread of HIV/AIDS in southern Africa. We are working very closely with south Asian Governments in designing effective prevention programmes that will prevent the mistakes that were made in tackling the HIV/AIDS epidemic earlier in Africa from occurring in south Asia.
Mother-to-child transmission is one of the issues on which we are working with Governments and AIDS-control organisations in southern Asian states. It is an 297 issue that we are continuing to talk very closely about with the Governments, because political leadership is at the absolute heart of a strong response in southern Asia.
§ Alistair Burt (North-East Bedfordshire) (Con)The Minister will be aware that there have been some claims recently that the number of people affected in Africa is not as great as was once claimed. Bearing in mind the importance of that, the difficulty of ensuring accuracy, and the crucial importance of maintaining confidence in what is happening, is the hon. Gentleman certain that there is a good system in place for measuring accurately the number of people involved, so that we do not get a fuss about claim and counter-claim, which is currently affecting confidence in tackling the disease in Africa?
Mr. ThomasIt is certainly true that there have been a number of expressions of concern about the statistics. We are confident that the statistics used by UNAIDS—the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS—which we use in order to understand the HIV/AIDS epidemic, are accurate. The continuing worry about the level of the statistics is a matter of concern, but we need to get on with scaling up our response and the response of the international community, instead of worrying about the concerns or a small number of people about the statistics.