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HIV/AIDS in the United Kingdom (17/11/05)
Lord Fowler
asked Her Majesty's Government:
What progress
they are making towards preventing the spread of
HIV/AIDS in the United
Kingdom.
The Minister
of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner):
My Lords, government measures to reduce the
spread of HIV/AIDS
were set out in the public health White Paper Choosing Health,
published last November. These included a new, high-profile national
campaign to promote safer sex messages, aimed at reducing the prevalence
and spread of all sexually transmitted infections, including
HIV/AIDS.
A key aim of our
strategy is the reduction in the number of HIV-positive people unaware of
their condition, and this is happening. The Government are also carrying
out targeted work with key high-risk groups such as gay men and African
communities. This year, £1.6 million is being invested specifically
targeting these groups, working closely with the Terrence Higgins Trust
and the African HIV Policy Network.
Lord Fowler:
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that
reply. He will be aware of a case, widely reported at the weekend, where
one man claimed to have been cured of
HIV/AIDS. Will the
Minister reiterate that whatever the truth is in that particular case, the
best advice firmly remains that there is neither a cure nor a vaccine for
AIDS, and that the best hope of preventing the spread of the virus is in
public education, which places a great responsibility on the Government?
Lord Warner:
My Lords, I understand that the full
details of the very unusual case that the noble Lord mentioned are
unclear. What he says is absolutely right and we take our public education
responsibilities in this area seriously, as I tried to indicate in the
Answer. I pay tribute to the work that the noble Lord has carried out on
this issue over a long period of time.
Baroness
Tonge:
My Lords, while endorsing the comments of the
noble Lord, Lord Fowler, that there is no cure for AIDS—and many young
people in this country now think that there is—the Government have
displayed a certain amount of complacency on this issue over the past
eight years. Why is there little mention of the subject in the public
health White Paper, because this is a public health issue? Why is it that
vulnerable groups, particularly failed asylum seekers, now have to pay for
treatment for AIDS and intercurrent infections? Is that not a very false
economy indeed, when they can still spread AIDS infections throughout the
community?
Lord Warner:
My Lords, on that last point, the policy
on charging overseas visitors for HIV treatment has been the same ever
since the appropriate regulations were introduced in 1989. The initial
diagnostic testing for HIV/AIDS
and any associated counselling is free to all, but should a test prove
positive, subsequent treatment, including drug therapy, is not. That is
the position on charging.
I shall not go through a long list of what the
Government have done, but I refute what the noble Baroness has said about
complacency. The UK has a relatively low HIV prevalence compared with
other EU countries as a result of sustained public education and health
promotion campaigns, initiated by the noble Lord, Lord Fowler.
Baroness Gardner of Parkes: My Lords, what progress is being made
in the development of microbicides, which we have been told may produce a
great way of preventing the spread of the disease and on which I know
research is being carried out in this country? Is any progress being made
in the production of microbicides?
Lord Warner:
My Lords, I believe that progress is
being made, but rather than speculate on that, I shall look into the
matter in more detail and write to the noble Baroness.
Baroness
Sharples:
My Lords, are there any plans to test those who
come from abroad and who wish to live within our shores?
Lord Warner:
My Lords, we already have good
arrangements for screening people, when appropriate, and we are making
good progress in targeting those areas.
Baroness
Walmsley:
My Lords, do the Government really want to put
the lives of unborn babies at risk? I can hardly believe that they do. Is
the Minister aware that midwives and physicians are becoming increasingly
concerned that the new charging system introduced in April 2004 is acting
as a deterrent to anti-retroviral treatment being given to HIV-positive
pregnant women?
Lord Warner:
My Lords, my understanding was that
antenatal HIV screening has been one of our success stories. We have
significantly reduced the mother-to-baby transmission of HIV. I shall
certainly look into that and write to the noble Baroness.
Lord Colwyn:
My Lords, does the Minister agree that
conventional therapy uses toxic chemical weapons against the virus that
may eventually fail by allowing the emergence of resistant strains? Are
not long-term survival and prevention dependent on a healthy lifestyle and
the use of therapies to support inherent healing systems?
Lord Warner:
My Lords, I do not share the noble
Lord's description of some of the well tried and tested therapies that are
being applied, but I certainly support the idea that safer sex and healthy
lifestyles will improve the situation.
Lord Avebury:
My Lords, what arrangements are there
for ensuring that information is available to patients attending GP
surgeries and outpatient clinics in hospitals?
Lord Warner:
My Lords, from my own experience and
from the experience of others, I know that a wide variety of information
is available in GP surgeries on a wide range of issues, including these
matters.
Lord Howarth
of Newport:
My Lords, is it still the case that parents
have a right to opt their children out of sex education classes? Does the
Minister think, in this age of
HIV/AIDS and a worrying growth in sexually transmitted
diseases, that it is appropriate in the wider interests that they should
be able to do so? He will please me if he tells me that my apprehension is
wrong and that they no longer have that right.
Lord Warner:
My Lords, I was under the impression
that the noble Lord's impression was wrong, but I will confirm it and
write to him.
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