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Dept for International Development

Answer

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the measures her Department is taking to strengthen the international effort to combat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. [157656] Clare Short: The Chancellor and I announced, as part of the global child poverty initiative, several tax measures and purchase fund options, to help increase access to medicines in developing countries. My Department is in discussion with other countries, international organisations, the private sector and civil society, to explore further options to increase international investment to tackle the diseases of poverty in developing countries, including the establishment of a global purchase fund for commodities for HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and diseases of childhood. In addition, we continue to encourage the EC to rapidly implement its programme of action for tackling the major communicable diseases. We are also currently supporting a number of innovative public private partnerships aimed at tackling the diseases of poverty. These include £14 million for the international AIDS vaccine initiative and support for the global alliance for vaccines, the medicines for malaria venture, and LAPDAP to treat drug-resistant malaria. In addition, the UK strongly supports the World Health Organisation-led roll back malaria initiative, which provides the vehicle for concerted action to deliver more widely the benefits of currently available methods of malaria control to the poorest. Finally, we continue to work with developing countries to strengthen their basic health systems capable of delivering drugs correctly and without which poor people will be unable to access the necessary drugs in their communities.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

367 c299W; 157656

Session

2000-01

Question not reached

Yes

Subjects

Africa Drugs Disease control HIV/AIDS Vaccination Tuberculosis Malaria

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk