§ Sir Archy KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) whether combating the spread of AIDS in Africa will be a UK priority during its period of chairmanship of the G8 in 2005; [170514]
(2) whether combating AIDS in Africa will be a UK priority during its presidency of the EU in 2005. [170599]
Mr. Gareth ThomasIn December 2003 the Government published their "Call for Action on HIV/ AIDS". The document was the first stage in stepping up our efforts to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic and sets out our clear intentions to provide high-level political leadership, to push for more resources to be made available and to work together more effectively with other donors. The Call for Action also signalled that HIV/AIDS, with a special focus on Africa, would be a centrepiece for our Presidencies of both the G8 and of the EU in 2005. DFID is currently developing ideas about how best to use our G8 Presidency to promote accelerated international action on HIV/AIDS.
§ Sir Archy KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what joint activity within the EU is being undertaken to combat AIDS in Africa. [170598]
§ Hilary BennJoint European Union (EU) actions to combat AIDS in developing countries are carried out within the framework of the European Commission's Programme for Action (PfA), entitled: "Accelerated action on HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB in the context of poverty reduction". The PfA entails a series of actions to increase the impact of existing interventions to combat HIV/AIDS; increase the affordability of key 1593W pharmaceuticals; and encourage investment in research for the development of global public goods to tackle HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria.
In order to help increase the affordability of medicines the EC supports the provisions of the Doha declaration on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The EC supports a strategy of tiered pricing of essential pharmaceuticals, whereby consumers in developing countries pay only for the basic production costs of patented drugs plus a modest mark-up. During the last two years the tiered pricing concept has become widely accepted within the EU. A major achievement was the adoption in May 2003 by the Council of a Regulation to avoid trade diversion into the EU market of certain key medicines, sold at reduced prices in developing countries.
In terms of increasing investment in research and development of specific global public goods to tackle HIV/AIDS and other diseases affecting the poorest, substantial resources have been allocated from the Research Framework Programmes for HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB research, including the establishment of the new European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) initiative. More information on the PfA is available at //europa.eu int/comm/development/body/eu_africa/docs/maladies_transmissibles_en.pdf.
The EU is committed to increasing the impact of interventions to tackle HIV/AIDS. However, progress has been slow in terms of increased support for health. Notwithstanding the large price reductions obtained since the adoption of the PfA, only few have access to anti-retroviral medicines, and to effective TB and malaria interventions. The proportion of national budgets devoted to health, and donor support needs to be increased.
Globally, the EC has been proactive in addressing the issues covered by the PfA, for example in the context of the G8, at EU/US summits, and at the EU/African Union Forum. The Commission also contributes to and is an active Board Member of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM). HIV/AIDS is among the priority development issues in the 2004–06 multi-annual strategic programme agreed by EU Heads of Government at the December 2003 European Council. The UK will prioritise HIV/AIDS and Africa during its Presidency next year. DFID is co-ordinating it's work closely with initiatives planned under the other five Presidencies during the 2004–06 period.