March 2006:

UNGASS + 5

Five years after the UK signed up to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS Declaration, the Government will submit a country report on how it has co-ordinated its national response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The APPG AIDS held a meeting on the 29^th March in the House of Commons that addressed the upcoming UNGASS and the UK country response to this Special Session.

Kay Orton from the Department of Health spoke about the work in compiling a report which is both complex in structure and content. For the rating system that is used in the report they used the Health Protection Agency’s summary of prevalence of HIV-infections in the UK. Kay Orton also introduced that the Choosing Health White Paper, with its focus on sexual health, and the Department of Health’s Action Plan on fighting Stigma and Discrimination provided a basis on which to present to UNGASS that the UK are working to tackle the HIV pandemic.

Robin Gorna from DFID spoke about the importance of the UNGASS meeting as a mobilising force. She told the meeting that over 800 civil society groups were invited to attend the meeting and 15 of these are invited from the UK. Robin Gorna said that the UK has a very important role to play in order to help secure the high-level and multi-sectoral approaches to tackling HIV/AIDS.

Jeremy Hunt MP spoke about the role of Parliamentarians and their involvement in securing a continued debate on Global Targets for tackling HIV/AIDS, specifically the Universal Access to Treatment 2010 target. Hunt argued that the target can not be met without interim targets. Jeremy Hunt MP also presented why he, as a Parliamentarian, had chosen to be involved in the struggle against HIV/AIDS by narrating his first meeting with children living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya.

Susie McLean from the International HIV/AIDS Alliance spoke about the importance of furthering the work that is being done jointly between civil society organisation and Governments. Susie McLean also emphasised how important it is that Governments and Institutions like the UN fully listen to and incorporate what Civil Society brings to the negotiating table. She also introduced the UK Civil Society and NGO response/ snap-shot of the UK Government’s response to the HIV pandemic internationally and domestically (enclosed below).

Questions and Answers

Mandeep Dhaliwal – International HIV/AIDS Alliance

How much of DFID’s spending on AIDS is going to Governments as opposed to NGOs and charities?

Robin Gorna: I do not have any figures in front of me; however there is a midterm evaluation of Taking Action underway which will look at this. We are looking at the effectiveness of money the different ways that are being channelled and we are looking very carefully at finding methods to deal with bottlenecks.

Wanjiku Kamal – IAVI

The International Development Select Committee raised an interesting question about the removal of people who are on ARVs. Is there any news on this?

Robin Gorna: The cross-Whitehall group are looking into this matter. There will be a follow-up on some of the questions that the International Development Select Committee asked and this is one of them.

Sandra Gidley MP

The work towards achieving universal access 2010 is inconsistent across Whitehall. Are you working towards improving this work?

I have also noticed that the UK Government is good on making the connection between sexual and reproductive health and HIV and wonder whether you are encouraging other Governments to do the same.

Robin Gorna:

Sexual and reproductive health and AIDS is something that we are very active on and we have commissioned a report on this link. We hope that this will help further our work in this area.

The cross-Whitehall group, consisting of Civil Servants from the Department of Health, DFID, The Home Office, The Foreign Office and the DTI are working to keep each other informed about UK HIV/Policy.

Dr. Angela Burnett – Medical Foundation

I have heard about pre-migration testing at borders, which has been implemented at 4 British embassies/high commissions for people applying for UK visas.

Robin Gorna:

As far as I am aware this is only for TB testing, but will try and find out more about this.

Kay Orton:

I am surprised to hear about this too, I have not heard that there is pre-migration testing in our embassies and high-commissions.

Student Stop AIDS Campaign

In the light of the rising number of HIV infections in this country why has there not been a massive investment in an Education Campaign?

Kay Orton:

We are not investing in a campaign that will target HIV specifically but in a Sexual Health campaign which will encompass HIV. We have based this decision around the facts that have come out of the Health Protection Agency and from NGO information on general sexual health in the UK.

Simon Wright – Action Aid

The FCO recently published a White Paper on the achievements of the G8 – but is fails to mention the achievements that we have made on HIV/AIDS. Is this not a sign that the there is not enough cross departmental work in White Hall.

Robin Gorna:

The FCO are very much involved with the work that we do on HIV/AIDS and we work very closely with them mainly abroad – but also in our cross-Whitehall work. It is in the nature of FCO work to work behind the scenes.

Student Stop AIDS Campaign

Will the reduction of VAT on condoms and other contraceptives mean that money saved will be used to plug deficits or will it be re-directed into sexual health services?

Kay Orton:

The money that is won on the reduction of VAT for the primary care services will be channelled back into those services and not used to meet deficits. There are mechanisms in place to ensure that this cannot happen.

Bruce McNair – Futures Group

If we still are having these meeting in 2011 I believe that our discussion will be about how to get access to ARVs in rural areas.

Robin Gorna:

2011 service delivery models a difficult topic to address. We need to restate a few existing ideas and one of them will be the brain-drain from certain areas and paying people properly for their services so that we will not have to look at specific areas and access.

Rhon Reynolds – African HIV Policy Network:

The Canadian response to UNGASS looks at both the national and the international work that its Government is doing. How are they doing this and why is not the UK Government doing it? Will it do so in its next report?

Will the UK representation to UNGASS be made up of representatives from all areas including immigrants?

Robin Gorna:

Regarding the Canadian response I can say that our aim is to produce a cross-Whitehall report. We are in the process of deciding which organisations will be included in the UNGASS delegation. We are trying to spread as wide as possible but it will always be impossible to include all areas.

Fionnuala Murphy – Student Stop AIDS Campaign

What is being done to tackle the fact that many HIV drugs, particularly second line ARVs, are still not available at affordable prices in many low and middle income countries?  Given that the existing system of voluntary differential pricing isn't working, is the government looking at the need for wider reforms including trade reform?

Robin Gorna:

We are in discussion with Pharmaceuticals regarding the different pricing of second line ARVs. One of the issues we are addressing is regulation of pricing. But we must also look at why more countries are not using the TRIPS agreement.

Anton Kerr – HIV International

Is the UK Government providing leadership on the costing of meeting the 2010 target?

Robin Gorna:

We are looking into common costing frameworks and we are looking into finding new ways of funding. We are working very closely with civil society especially on addressing funding bottlenecks.

Deborah Jack – National AIDS Trust

Why is the Government so reluctant to change its position on reckless transmission of HIV?

Kay Orton:

The Department of Health and the Home Office are working with the CPS on this issue and we believe that this is a matter in progress.