§ Mr. WatsonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what research he has commissioned on microbicide creams to prevent the spread of HIV. [166839]
Mr. Gareth ThomasDFID has been an early and leading bilateral supporter of work on microbicides, spending nearly £18 million to date. DFID has committed a grant of £16 million over five years (2001–06) for the Microbicide Development Programme, which is coordinated by the Clinical Trials Unit of the UK Medical Research Council (MRC), and Imperial College London. The programme is implementing research studies to investigate the effectiveness of promising microbicide products, involving research centres in five African countries. DFID also provides support to the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) to accelerate the discovery, development and accessibility of microbicides, and. International Family Health (IFH) and the Population Council to develop policy dialogue, advocacy and networking around microbicides development and access.
DFID supported and jointly chaired the international Microbicides 2004 conference, which was held in London, 28 March to 1 April 2004. It was an important opportunity for scientists and advocates to share information on the progress of microbicide development. We will launch our new HIV/AIDS Strategy later this year. In it we will set how we will work together with partners in developed and 941W developing countries to drive forward research into new technologies to prevent HIV/AIDS, including microbicides and vaccines.