HIV and AIDS

Lord Cashman Excerpts

Wednesday 1st December 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

I am sure that all noble Lords would like to join the noble Lord, Lord Fowler, in celebrating the work of the NGOs. A lot of aid is government to government, which can sometimes be a barrier in reaching those it needs to help, especially in countries where the people who are suffering from HIV are discriminated against or stigmatised. Often, the best way to reach them is not via government but via those NGOs, so of course, I pay tribute to them, as I am sure all noble Lords do.

[Lord Cashman (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has saved 44 million lives since being founded 20 years ago. It is estimated that more than 3 million of those were thanks to UK aid. Therefore, will the Minister confirm that continued close partnership with the Global Fund will remain a central pillar of the UK Government’s planned international development and global health strategies?

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

I thank the noble Lord for his question and pay tribute to his work during our many years together in the European Parliament, where he was probably one of the strongest champions for LGBTQ+ issues, and AIDS and HIV awareness. My only regret is that I was not able to champion as strongly as I wanted to on ethnic diversity and the lack of it in the EU. Of course, we remain committed to the Global Fund and to other partners, including UNAIDS and the global financing facility. It is important that we all work together on this issue, not only in our own countries but particularly in countries where the situation is difficult and people have challenging health systems, and in countries where, unfortunately, gay people or those suffering from HIV are discriminated against or even stigmatised. One of the things that we can be proud of in the UK is that we stand up for those people.