§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures he proposes to cater for women affected by AIDS and their children. [185547]
Mr. Gareth ThomasThe UK Government's new strategy, 'Taking Action: The UK's Strategy for Tackling HIV and AIDS in the Developing World', launched by the Prime Minister on 20 July 2004, prioritises women and young people. Chiefly, the UK Government will
Support comprehensive programmes for women that address not only their access to sexual and reproductive health and rights but also access to education, employment and social protection.Support efforts to promote girls' education and work to support programmes tackling gender violence and stigma and discrimination.Strengthen the links between AIDS and Sexual and Reproductive Health programmes.Make support for orphans and vulnerable children a cornerstone of our response, by dedicating at least £150 million over the next three years to address their needs, including through:securing international commitment to UNICEF's Strategic Framework;reflecting our commitment in the Country Assistance Plans in all affected countries; and277Wworking on a range of interventions to assist keeping children productively in school, secure access to health care and social protection.Support prevention and treatment programmes that meet the needs of marginalised groups.Promote the greater involvement of people with HIV and AIDS—including women, young people and marginalized groups—in planning and delivering programmes.Ensure the human rights of marginalised and vulnerable groups, including women and children, are given proper attention, including:supporting legislative reform to improve the human rights environment—including anti discrimination legislation, legislation to regulate the conduct of public institutions like the police, and to guarantee individuals access to services.Working with the formal justice sector to make justice systems more responsive to human rights concerns and more accessible to vulnerable groups.The UK Government will also support research to build the evidence base and contribute to effective AIDS programmes worldwide. DFID will work to help coordination and information sharing between the various research initiatives concerned with the delivery and the impacts of HIV treatment. In particular DFID will support research efforts, which address access to treatment by the poorest and most vulnerable, including women and children.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures he proposes to take to tackle AIDS in Asia. [185581]
Mr. Gareth ThomasDFID currently funds major HIV and AIDS programmes in eight countries in Asia1, and supports regional initiatives to reduce the spread of infection and provide services for vulnerable groups. Fuller details are set out in the table on page 20 of the recently launched "Taking Action, the UK's Strategy for Tackling HIV/AIDS in Developing Countries".
DFID will continue to strengthen political leadership and public support for action in all the Public Service Agreement countries in Asia. DFID will intensify its support to national programmes including through non-Government organisations, for example, by supporting India's National AIDS Control Organisation and targeting vulnerable groups in Vietnam and Bangladesh.
DFID will assist the Chinese Government to expand the delivery of services for high risk populations in the poorest provinces of China, and to replicate the approach on a national basis.
1Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Vietnam.