MALARIA ERADICATION (Hansard, 18 May 1960)

§ LORD AMULREE
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

LORD ST. OSWALD
My Lords, Her Majesty's Government already contribute substantially to the regular budget of the World Health Organisation and other international funds which devote large sums to anti-malaria work. They also contribute to the cost of such work in United Kingdom overseas territories. Her Majesty's Government do not, therefore, feel able to make an additional special contribution to this account.

§ LORD AMULREE
My Lords, I should like to thank the noble Lord for his reply, but I would ask him whether, in view of the fact that the Director of the World Health Organisation has said that it should be possible for malaria to be eradicated from the world by 1970 if this fund is fully subscribed to, 930 Her Majesty's Government cannot think again on this point, particularly in view of the fact that Her Majesty's Government has control or is interested in such a large number of countries where malaria is very rife.

LORD ST. OSWALD
My Lords, the noble Lord in his question referred to a special contribution to the Malaria Eradication Special Account, and while not attempting, to contradict the views of the noble Lord on what may or may not be possible in this direction technically, the fact is that since the war the United Kingdom has done a great deal in its own dependent territories and by contributing to international funds. It is the Government's view that voluntary extra-budgetary funds, which the noble Lord had in mind, are not a sound way of financing continuing programmes of international organisations which have a regular budget. All activities undertaken by the World Health Organisation should form part of a co-ordinated programme within a regular budget drawn up in accordance with pre-determined priorities. That is the view of Her Majesty's Government on the particular proposal which the noble Lord made today as to how the contribution could be made.

§ LORD AMULREE
My Lords, I should like once more to thank the noble Lord for what he has said. I would ask two more questions of him. Is he not aware that the Governments of the United States and of the Soviet Union are making large contributions to this particular fund? That is the first question. The second question is this. The malarial mosquito is becoming more and more resistant to being killed by what we know at present as D.D.T. and such substances. Therefore, do not Her Majesty's Government think that the question is now becoming extremely urgent. And although I know that they give considerable sums to the W.H.O., could they not make an exception in this case in view of the urgency of the problem now?

LORD ST. OSWALD
My Lords, I can only repeat that our contributions are very substantial. The noble Lord has referred to the contributions of Russia. I am not sure whether he was referring in his last supplementary question to Russia's contribution to the 931 Special Account. Russia's contributions to the Special Account are not very large. To the main account, to which we also contribute, they are substantial. We are in fact the third largest contributor after the United States and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union's contribution to the extra account which the noble Lord has in mind is not very great.

§ THE EARL OF LUCAN
My Lords, the noble Lord takes his stand on the ground that this is all a matter of the W.H.O. But is he not aware that this work is something additional to the ordinary work of the W.H.O., and that for that purpose the United States and other countries have contributed so that the total expenditure for last year, 1959, was something like 45 million dollars? Would he not also agree that a contribution to this Special Account for eradication is the least that we look for from Her Majesty's Government?

LORD ST. OSWALD
My Lords, in point of fact, as the noble Earl says, the United States have contributed very generously to this extra Special Account. They have contributed three times—five million, three million and three million dollars. The other contributions have not been of any great significance. I should like to point out that, so far as the eradication of malaria is concerned, the record of this country is high in all our own territories. In fact, I could give the noble Earl a list of the British dependent territories where eradication has been complete. The noble Lord, Lord Shepherd, I think is in his place, and I believe he will be able to stand by me and agree as to the great success which has been achieved in Singapore and in Malaya. This has been entirely British initiative and has been completely successful. At the moment, I can say that in Sarawak, in Zanzibar and in many parts of the West Indies eradication is in sight, and eradication programmes have begun in North Borneo and in Trinidad. So we are not sitting still on this question of eradication.

§ LORD TAYLOR
My Lords, is it not a fact that the malarial mosquito does not respect territorial boundaries, and that if we are really to maintain the eradication we are achieving in our 932 territories we must do all we can to assist eradication in neighbouring territories and in backward countries as well?

§ LORD SHEPHERD
My Lords, the noble Lord mentioned my name. Would he not agree with the question which was put by my noble friend: that, in the end, it would be better to spend more money now to bring about an eradication of malaria, because at the present moment it is a continual expenditure without eradication?

LORD ST. OSWALD
My Lords, the point of view of Her Majesty's Government is that this is not best done by a Special Account entered upon without any assurance that it will be fully subscribed, possibly producing a situation where a programme is entered upon which cannot be completed if the necessary contributions from other countries besides ourselves are not produced.

§ THE EARL OF LUCAN
My Lords, have Her Majesty's Government any ground for saying that this programme has been begun on too big a scale to be completed?

LORD ST. OSWALD
No. I do not think I suggested that. I said that we prefer to enter on, or to cope with, this problem under an accepted budget, a definite budget, and not in a form in which contributions could not be guaranteed.

LORD REA
My Lords, I do not want to carry this matter too far, but can the noble Lord say whether the Government's attitude is that a special contribution to a Special Account would not accelerate eradication of the malarial mosquito, or that it is not worth while?

§ THE EARL OF SWINTON
My Lords, may I ask the noble Lord—I have some experience of this subject—whether it is not a fact that, over the last twenty years, this country has set a most remarkable example in what used to be called Colonial territories; and is it not about time that some of the other countries which have done little or nothing to help themselves should do a little to contribute towards this matter and not rely on the principle: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."—

LORD ST. OSWALD
In reply to my noble friend Lord Swinton, may I say that I tried to make the point earlier of the great contribution that we had made towards solving this international problem. In reply to the noble Lord, Lord Rea, I would say that I did not, I hope, give the impression that the Government questioned the feasibility of a plan for eradication. We question only the suitability of his noble friend's approach in the manner of doing it.

§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGH
My Lords, may I ask the noble Lord whether it is not reasonable for my noble friend to put forward his supplementary question about other territories? British interests are involved. We have missionary societies and medical missions, the Baptists, the Presbyterians and the Church Missionary Society, in particular, who in many countries deal with medical research and have done a lot to eradicate malaria in those countries. Do we not want to help them as well as our Colonies?

LORD ST. OSWALD
My Lords, I am in absolute agreement that malaria is an international problem. I agree also with my noble friend Lord Swinton, who said that we have made a great contribution towards solving it. All I am saying is that the method proposed by the noble Lord, Lord Amulree, is not the method that we think most likely to achieve the complete result which he is aiming at.

§ LORD WINSTER
My Lords, may I ask the noble Lord whether he is aware that, when in Cyprus, I won a cask of wine from the Governor of Sardinia for beating him in a race as to which of us would be the first to eradicate the Anopheles mosquito from our respective islands?

LORD ST. OSWALD
My Lords, I was aware that Cyprus was the first place in the British Dominions from which malaria had been eradicated, but I was not aware of the noble Lord's part in that achievement.

§ LORD AMULREE
My Lords, in view of the great interest shown in this subject by Members of your Lordships' House, I wonder whether it would be possible for Her Majesty's Government, or for the noble Lord's right honourable 934 friend, to look into this matter again, to see whether, if possible, some change can be made in our contributions?

LORD ST. OSWALD
Certainly Her Majesty's Government are always looking into it. I should not like anything that I have said to imply that they were not, and that they will not continue to look into it. It is a question of the line of approach suggested by the noble Lord, Lord Amulree, and at the moment we are not ready to accept it.