Zika Virus

Lord Gardiner of Kimble Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd February 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taverne (LD)]

My Lords—

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble (Con)]

My Lords, we have not heard from the Conservative Benches yet.

[Viscount Ridley]

My Lords, I have a feeling that the noble Lord, Lord Taverne, and I were going to say much the same thing, so I will have a go at it. Will the Minister undertake to look at the report on genetically modified insects by the Science and Technology Committee, under the chairmanship of my noble friend Lord Selborne? This came out in December, which was extremely timely, and examined the fact that a British company, Oxitec, has managed to suppress mosquito populations in Brazil by 90% in some areas. This is a fantastic new technology which could be much more helpful than other approaches in this case.

Afghanistan: Quarterly Statement

Lord Gardiner of Kimble Excerpts

Wednesday 14th May 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble (Con)]

My Lords, we have had a member of the Cross Benches speak already. We take these things in turn. I hope that that will be helpful.

[Lord Cormack]

My Lords, I am grateful. My noble friend has made a moving and impressive Statement. However, she has not mentioned one group of people, and upon them so much has depended: the Afghan interpreters. As we withdraw from Afghanistan, we of course maintain our aid and connection. Can my noble friend assure me that the sacrifice and service that those men and women have given will not be forgotten, and that we will ensure—so far as is possible—that their lives will not be endangered after we have withdrawn?

Economy: Culture and the Arts

Lord Gardiner of Kimble Excerpts

Thursday 13th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, I, too, congratulate my noble friend Lady Wheatcroft on securing this debate. On the fundamentals, I believe that we are all united. Be it dance, opera, theatre, museums, paintings, design, gardens, historic buildings, sculpture, photography, heritage, film, literature or television production, culture and the arts bring our country alive, stimulate creativity, inspire us, develop a strong sense of community, challenge and entertain us. They are essential to the fabric of our society. Alongside all these important features lies their enormous contribution to the economy.

The UK’s culture reaches out far beyond these shores. It attracts millions of tourists to our country every year, forging international relations and building trade links and greater collaboration with the rest of the world. Culture is GREAT is one of the pillars of the Government’s successful GREAT campaign aimed at promoting the UK internationally. The Government’s priority is growth. Heritage, the arts, the creative industries and tourism are essential to that success. My noble friend Lady Bonham-Carter spoke powerfully about that. The noble Lord, Lord Smith of Finsbury, reminded us, with all his experience and commitment how important the creative industries are. The UK’s cultural sector—both private and publicly funded—has a significant role to play in local and regional economic regeneration. In 2011, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park directly contributed to the employment of 108 full-time jobs and was worth at least £4.68 million to the local economy. We heard from my noble friend Lady Seccombe about Shakespeare and the beneficial impact of Stratford and beyond. Margate, St Ives, Gateshead, to name but a few, all have cultural projects making a huge difference.

This Government, in recognising the value of the arts and culture, increased the share of funding from the National Lottery to the arts so that the Arts Council England is now projected to receive £262 million of lottery funding in 2015 compared with £151 million in 2010-11. Many noble Lords, particularly the noble Lord, Lord Puttnam, and my noble friends Lord Grade of Yarmouth and Lord Maclennan of Rogart mentioned this. Arts and culture in the UK are supported by mixed sources of funding. Nearly £3 billion of public and lottery funding will go to the arts over the lifetime of this Parliament. In the current climate, I believe that that represents a positive settlement for the sector. Public funding of the arts remains a cornerstone and from this many benefits flow. It encourages innovation and that experimentalism drives creativity. Some go on to achieve huge commercial success. My noble friend Lord Grade of Yarmouth confirmed that. “War Horse”, which was mentioned by the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, inspired by a puppetry show at the Battersea Arts Centre, then produced by the National Theatre, went on to achieve numerous awards and was an Oscar-nominated film.

The latest report published by Arts Council England earlier this week clearly upholds this belief that public subsidy provides the space for innovation, talent development and risk. It shows that there is a significant amount of movement between publicly funded theatre and purely commercial theatre. Public investment today can lead to the blockbusters of tomorrow and the value this brings to our economy. London theatres grossed more than £0.5 billion in sales, selling 14 million tickets last year. Furthermore, 10.6 million people living outside London visit a theatre at least once a year. The UK’s creative industries contribute more than £36 billion or 2.9% to the UK economy; they export £8.9 billion and employ more than 1.5 million people, which is around 5% of the UK workforce.

The UK film industry goes from strength to strength with its Harry Potter films, and films such as “Skyfall”, “The King’s Speech” and “Les Miserables”. British Film Institute research shows that the industry contributes £4.6 billion to the economy, as the noble Lord, Lord Puttnam, highlighted There is a great history of public service broadcasting in this country, which means that the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 can now invest more than £3 billion a year in TV programming across their channels. That supports the creative industries through direct investment and provides a degree of stability in the market. They commission innovative and culturally diverse programming, and bring the arts and our creative industries to a much wider audience. Furthermore, recently published research commissioned by Arts Council England shows that the UK arts and culture sector had a turnover of £12.4 billion and contributed £5.9 billion to the UK economy in 2011. Research suggests that for every £1 generated by the sector, an additional £1.43 is generated in the wider UK economy through suppliers to the sector and additional spending by those who work in the sector.

Perhaps I may give the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, some reassurance. The Government recognise that public funding for the arts offers stability and unlocks further funding. Public funding in partnership with other funding streams is the most advantageous for the long-term sustainability of the arts in this country. This includes earned income from commercial activity, private giving and philanthropy, and access to the lottery. This mixed model of funding avoids reliance on any one form of income, allows for risk and builds resilience. I was interested in what my noble friend Lord Eccles said about independence and funding, and his experience of Kew and the Bowes Museum.

In 2014-15, Arts Council England will invest £345 million into the arts. As its chairman, Sir Peter Bazalgette, has said, this funding acts as venture capital, giving confidence to others to invest in the creativity and innovations of our cultural organisations. The creative employment programme, with funding from Arts Council England until March 2015, will provide up to 6,500 apprenticeship placements, helping young unemployed people enter the cultural workforce. The programme aims to approve the first 700 apprenticeships and 500 paid internships by 31 October this year. This is something that my noble friends Lord Grade of Yarmouth and Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville were particularly interested in.

The UK is home to a wide and varied cultural offer that distinguishes us from the rest of the world, be it historic ships like the “Mary Rose” and “HMS Victory” in Portsmouth, David Bowie’s clothes to world-renowned music festivals that take place up and down the country every summer. I was mindful of the speech by my noble friend Lady Sharp of Guildford on science heritage, particularly, as it is so current, about the development which has secured the future of the “Mary Rose”. The noble Baroness, Lady Kennedy of The Shaws, mentioned science and the arts and the importance of them riding together.

Four in 10 leisure visitors to the UK cite heritage and culture as the primary motivation for their visit. In 2011, more than 10 million inbound visitors to the UK engaged with some form of arts and culture. Research commissioned by Arts Council England estimates that £856 million per annum of visitor spend can be directly attributed to arts and culture. It is therefore no surprise that with more than 5.5 million visitors last year, the British Museum is the UK’s top visitor attraction and is ranked in the top five museums in the world. I acknowledge the great work which my noble friend Lady Wheatcroft and the noble Baroness, Lady Kennedy of The Shaws, have rightly highlighted. This work is, of course, replicated among the many museums across the land.

The Heritage Lottery Fund estimates that heritage tourism's direct annual impact on the economy is £4.3 billion. Including those that supply the sector and additional spending by those who work in the sector, heritage tourism contributes £11.9 billion annually to the economy. All this demonstrates the very clear benefits the cultural sector brings to our economy through tourism and the UK’s cultural status. This global status was amplified following the Olympic and Paralympic Games of last year. Britain’s overall nation brand improved, with Britain moving up one place to be ranked fourth out of 50 major countries around the world.

Last year’s Cultural Olympiad that accompanied the Games was a vast celebration of the UK as a centre for cultural innovation, creativity and a true showcase of Britain to the world. With more than 43 million visitors, participants, audience members and volunteers, the Cultural Olympiad engaged communities across the UK and inspired people to get involved in culture, including many who attended or participated in events for the first time. There was indeed something for everyone.

The Government are working to build on those great successes and it is essential that we create a lasting legacy from them. To harness all this success, we must look at ways of increasing financial resilience, by building skills in areas such as fundraising and ensuring our cultural sector continues to realise its artistic and economic value. The Government have demonstrated their commitment to the creative industries by working to introduce tax reliefs to support film, TV, animation and videogames, as the noble Viscount, Lord Colville of Culross, mentioned. In this year’s Budget, the Government also announced a package of measures to support growth and jobs in these industries through investing in the development of skills and technology. Cultural and the creative industries, including museums, libraries, publishing, designer fashion, technology and architecture, have been represented on many of the Prime Minister’s trade missions around the world. That has promoted Britain to global partners. I hope this reassures the noble Viscount, but I will look into the point that he made.

My noble friend Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville asked about philanthropy. The Government have introduced initiatives to boost philanthropy, including a reduced rate of inheritance tax for legacy giving and the recently launched cultural gifts scheme. This saw its first major gift, one of the best collections of Beatles lyrics and manuscripts, being made to the British Library only last month. We have simplified gift aid, while the Catalyst scheme has also been developed, under which £110 million has already been earmarked for arts and heritage organisations, which will unlock at least as much again from private donors. I hope it will also improve the fund-raising skills which my noble friend Lord Brooke mentioned. We should also applaud the profound generosity of those donors who have contributed almost £700 million to the cultural sector each year.

Another area in which the Government support world-class culture is through the Government Indemnity Scheme. This provides an alternative to the considerable cost of commercial insurance for museums, galleries, archives and libraries. The wonderful “Houghton Revisited” exhibition of paintings that are on loan to Houghton Hall from the Hermitage in St Petersburg is a recent example, and what an uplift that is to the economy of rural Norfolk as well. So from Sir Robert Walpole’s magnificent collection of old masters to digital innovation, there is a place for all kinds of creativity and endeavour.

This year, Derry/Londonderry is the UK’s City of Culture; the next City of Culture for 2017 is due to be selected later this year. Enlightened cities recognise the value which culture has as a driver for tourism in showcasing the best their city can offer. I am particularly mindful of the successes in Liverpool. I was glad to hear my noble friend Lord Maclennan raising the lord mayor of London’s initiative, which should surely be applauded. Beyond the City of Culture, councils across the country are in partnership with cultural groups to deliver music education hubs—a key component of the national plan for music education, which is seeing an investment of more than £200 million in music education. I listened carefully to what the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley of Knighton, said and I would like to consider very much what he said about some particular examples.

In response to the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, the Government have been working closely with arts sector representatives and the Arts Council as part of the review of the national curriculum. We are due to publish the cultural education plan shortly; I know that my noble friend Lady Bonham-Carter referred to that.

While this Government do not seek to dictate to local authorities how they spend their money, DCMS Ministers are in discussion with the Local Government Association about how local authorities are approaching the pressures of existing budgets. I assure the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, that Ministers and officials engage regularly with other government departments on cross-departmental policy.

Noble Lords have mentioned the forthcoming spending round and I want to reassure them, particularly the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, that I know from my discussions with Ministers that they are being absolutely robust about setting out the vital role that the cultural sector plays and about the manner in which it can contribute to the return to growth. Conversations are still ongoing.

We have had an exceptional debate. There is so much more to say. I have listened very carefully to what has been said and I thank my noble friend Lady Wheatcroft and all noble Lords for giving us this great opportunity to explore the considerable importance of culture and the arts.

[Lord Puttnam]

Before the Minister sits down—

[Baroness Northover]

There is not time, I am afraid. The Minister must finish and we have to conclude within a minute and a half.

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

I apologise to noble Lords. The resounding view from us all is that the cultural sector and all who work within it contribute to the UK economy as well as enriching national life. The arts and culture are part of the route to national recovery. We must grasp every opportunity to allow culture and the arts to flourish and the UK economy to prosper.

Arts and Culture: Economic Regeneration

Lord Gardiner of Kimble Excerpts

Tuesday 29th January 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Quin, on securing this debate. I am confident that we will continue to work on many campaigns in great friendship. I would also like to thank your Lordships for your very kind remarks.

The role of art and culture in the wider economy cannot be overstated. The Government’s priority is growth; heritage, the arts and tourism are essential for this. Perhaps I may say straight away to the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, that the recent Cabinet meeting in Leeds was precisely about regeneration and growth, for these activities are a valuable asset for local and regional regeneration. Indeed, the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Wakefield particularly mentioned regional regeneration; the recent Cabinet meeting was an indication of that. The reception tonight of the Royal West of England Academy in your Lordships’ House highlighted for me just how vibrant and important the arts are in engaging in education, which my noble friend Lord Shipley referred to, and that these academies are at the heart of their communities.

In reference to what the noble Baroness, Lady Quin, has said about Gateshead and to what my noble friend Lord Shipley said about the north-east, that part of our country is extremely fortunate to have them both as champions. It is clear that the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Wakefield is a champion of Yorkshire and of all that is going on there, including the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the Hepworth gallery and other developments, as well as our great cathedrals. The noble Lord, Lord Wigley, is, of course, a champion of Wales.

My noble friend Lady Hooper referred to the Cultural Olympiad. In London this was a phenomenal success. I say again to the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, that was a positive symbol of is happening in communities up and down the country. Nearly 20 million people took part in more than 1,300 performances and events at over 1,200 venues across the United Kingdom. A lasting legacy of cultural and artistic engagement and participation, and working with the public, private and voluntary sectors, is the Government’s objective.

The Government’s policy on the future role of cultural projects and the arts in regional and economic regeneration is delivered by bodies that have the expertise and the regional presence to do so. These bodies include the Arts Council England, English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund. In addition, VisitBritain aims to draw international visitors to Britain, while VisitEngland encourages domestic tourism. I say to the noble Baroness, Lady Quin, that it is not realistic for there to be cuts in all other areas of the public sector and for the arts, alas, to be immune. But I am conscious of what she and other noble Lords have said. DCMS Ministers are in discussion with the Local Government Association about how local authorities are approaching the pressures on existing budgets, and I acknowledge this.

The Arts Council has a strong regional presence and in turn is working closely with local authorities on arts funding priorities. I know that many councils recognise the important role that arts and culture have in creating and retaining jobs, and stimulating growth. I am very pleased that this Government restored the shares of the National Lottery distribution fund for arts and heritage to 20% each. A lot more lottery money is available to support the arts and heritage.

The noble Baroness, Lady Quin, also referred to funding. The Arts Council is responsible for allocating £2.9 billon of public and lottery funding to arts and cultural bodies over this Parliament, and is investing in capital projects, and supporting theatre, music, visual arts, dance and libraries. I say to the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, that the Arts Council is investing in a creative people and places programme over the next three years, and £37 million will be allocated to priority areas around the UK where participation in the arts is lowest.

In the area of skills and access to finance, another strand of the creative people and places programme will provide match funding for businesses interested in offering apprenticeships and internships for young people. The aim is to support 10,000 placements between now and 2015. The priority of the Government is to encourage small and medium size enterprises, and many of your Lordships referred to this, including my noble friend Lord Shipley, the noble Lord, Lord Wigley, and the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch. The Arts Council is helping to address problems that artistic and creative businesses can face in accessing finance by providing business development loans of between £5,000 and £25,000 to help create creative enterprises.

A number of noble Lords, including the noble Baronesses, Lady Quin and Lady Jones, and my noble friend Lord Shipley, mentioned philanthropy. The catalyst programme has already seen £30 million being given to arts and heritage organisations to encourage match funding. On top of that, the scheme will also give £55 million to arts and heritage bodies up and down the country to build up endowments. Philanthropy all too often passes unnoticed, yet it is integral to some of our finest arts and culture. We should applaud the profound generosity of those donors across the country who already contribute almost £700 million each year to our cultural sector. I will have to write to the noble Baroness, Lady Quin, about the figures on private giving, if she will forgive me tonight.

Turning to tourism, the UK’s arts and cultural sector is, of course, essential to domestic tourism, as well as to that from overseas. Our diverse and magnificent cultural opportunities are a huge draw for visitors. Between 2011 and 2015, VisitBritain aims to attract an extra 4.6 million overseas visitors and £2.3 billion in extra visitor spend. I am proud to say that the top five UK visitor attractions in 2011 were national museums sponsored by DCMS which attracted 23 million visitors. Many of these institutions take exhibitions across the country. This year, Tate Modern is bringing the Turner Prize to Derry/Londonderry as the UK City of Culture for 2013. Last week, the Government launched the competition for the next UK City of Culture, which will happen in 2017.

My noble friend Lady Hooper highlighted Liverpool. Liverpool City of Culture 2008 saw a 23% increase in visitors over four years. That is a great achievement. The noble Baronesses, Lady Quin and Lady Jones, also referred to the City of Culture in that regard. The competition presents a unique opportunity for cities across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to galvanise their culture, heritage, creative industries and tourism offer in a way that can help the local economy and create a lasting legacy for the future.

Our heritage presents the very best of our past and plays a crucial role in the future prosperity of our towns, cities and rural areas. The Heritage Lottery Fund provides funding for visitor attractions on a national and local scale, which has led to a doubling in the regional employment that is dependent on these attractions. I shall refer to two examples: at the National Railway Museum in Shildon, 79 jobs were created and £3.6 million was contributed to the economy of the county of Durham; and the Big Pit: National Coal Museum in South Wales offers a similar story, with 82 jobs created and £2.2 million contributed to Gwent. Visitor numbers went up by 83%.

The noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, made a point about the EBacc. This has come up many times before. The five core subjects account for about 70% of the curriculum. That means that schools have between another 20% and 30% of the curriculum, which I am sure will include creative arts and other activities that are clearly essential. The track record of creative enterprises in this country is very strong indeed. There will be announcements on this matter, but I am confident that we will continue to champion creative activity and the arts for young people.

I conclude by renewing my particular thanks to the noble Baroness, Lady Quin, and to all noble Lords. We have had a very good opportunity to air some legitimate concerns. We clearly all need to work extremely hard and effectively to assist the creative industries, the arts and all that goes with them in these difficult times. We have all accepted in our different ways across the party divide that they are challenging economic times. I emphasise, in particular to the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, that this Government strongly support the arts and culture sector. The investments I have outlined indicate that.

It is now my privilege to work with the Minister for Sport and Tourism and the Secretary of State, who was in Leeds on Monday talking to leaders in Yorkshire about tourism and the opportunities for that important county. These are positive examples of what this Government really think about arts and culture and regional regeneration.

Arts and culture are absolutely key to the reputation of our country overseas and they also make a key contribution to everyone in this country. This is an ongoing programme of work and there is very much more to do. Governments and Oppositions can never do enough. However, it falls to the Government and a number of key strategic bodies to ensure that culture and the arts remain a key element of economic growth and social well-being.

However, I believe that it goes beyond that. The arts and culture undoubtedly raise the spirit of the British people and they are a great source of pride to our nation. I believe these are sentiments that we in your Lordships’ House all share.

HIV and AIDS in the UK

Lord Gardiner of Kimble Excerpts

Thursday 1st December 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, it has been a great privilege to serve on the Select Committee under the chairmanship of my noble friend Lord Fowler. It has been a particular privilege to serve with colleagues across your Lordships' House, our professional adviser and clerks, who all know so much more than I do about this devastating and serious virus.

I fear that I may have asked some all too obvious questions. My first was because I failed to understand—and still do—why antiretroviral drug prices need to vary across the country. I am a supporter of localism but surely it is desirable to procure nationally if this means that more competitive prices can be achieved across the country and significant savings can then be utilised on the front line of treatments or, indeed, on prevention measures. In the Government’s response to the committee's report, it is acknowledged that beyond London regional procurements have been less successful. However, I do not see that rectifying this has been viewed as a priority. I hope that I am wrong. Predominantly, it has been a privilege to hear directly from exceptional professionals, dedicated volunteers and courageous and inspirational people who live with HIV.

Your Lordships have already heard that in this country the stark facts are that the number of people living with HIV is increasing—it is now more than 100,000—with treatment costing £1 billion a year. In the world some 34 million are now living with HIV/AIDS. The rate of infections in the world is thankfully slowing yet in the UK the rate is increasing, so now is the time for the UK to tackle this virus with renewed determination. With early diagnosis we can enable the majority of people with HIV to have as normal a life as possible. The drugs have transformed the prospects for so many. However, we must now concentrate even more tenaciously on prevention. This is the key to all our aspirations to defeat HIV/AIDS and eventually eradicate it.

Some prevention measures in the UK have been outstanding successes. Many noble Lords have already referred to the clean needle programmes and routine antenatal testing of pregnant women. More generally, however, our financial commitment to prevention campaigns for too long has been disproportionately low. The lifetime cost of treatment of a single patient is nearly £360,000. Yet £2.9 million, as has already been referred to, is all we will spend on national prevention programmes in 2011-12. The Government in their response recognise the benefits that investment in prevention would offer. We need to do more than that. We need action. There must be a far more robust attitude, a sense of mission on prevention, which my noble friend Lord Fowler so admirably galvanised and led in the 1980s.

We must be bold about prevention programmes. Is the UK rate of infection increasing because we have not been? Of course our efforts should be focused on the parts of the community most at risk. But should not HIV also be seen as part of the overall sexual health campaign? The more we place it in that context, the wider the message reaches. I do not understand why the Government are so adamant that a national campaign aimed at the general public, which the committee recommended, would not be effective. I apologise to the Minister, but when the national campaign led by my noble friend Lord Fowler is universally acknowledged as having been extremely effective, I do not understand the Government’s initial response. At the same time, the Government quite rightly accept that more needs to be done by all to address behaviour that increases the risk of HIV infection. I urge the department to look at this with urgency as it formulates the new sexual health policy framework. I am sure the department will be widely supported in being robust in considering all the options when prevention contracts end in March next year. I also hope that upon gaining new responsibilities, local authorities will prioritise prevention.

No responsible person underestimates the financial pressures we face in this country; new money is more than hard to find. However, we will fail to be cost effective if we do not direct scarce resources towards prevention. Even with the success of antenatal testing, last year over 70 babies were born HIV positive; that is, 70 children with the prospect of medication all their lives. It is a sobering and distressing thought and we must do better.

One element of serving on the committee which most affected me was learning about the consequences of late diagnosis in terms of quality and expectancy of life. Some 52 per cent of adults in 2009 were deemed as diagnosed late: heterosexual women at 59 per cent and heterosexual men at 66 per cent. Two-thirds of those over 50 were diagnosed late. That may be a profile that is not what many would have expected. Going further, 30 per cent of new diagnoses are in the very late diagnosis category. This is a frightening percentage with many adverse health implications.

In committee we discussed testing at some considerable length and received much evidence. The current situation surely warrants that we should look at the whole issue of testing and its expansion. Antenatal testing is now seen as a routine and uncontroversial procedure. Is this not the route we should now take? As part of tackling stigma and discrimination, should we not be looking to normalise as much as possible our approach to testing? Why cannot HIV testing on an opt-out basis—as the noble Lord, Lord May of Oxford, has already highlighted and as is recommended in our report—be routinely offered and recommended to new registered patients, to general and acute medical admissions and on entry to prisons? The wider we test, the more we can break down stigma. The more we do so, the more likely that people will come forward, be tested and, if necessary, receive medication. Therefore, I endorse the Government’s comments that HIV testing should be within the competence of all doctors and nurses, and I welcome the department’s review of the policy which bans the sale of home-testing kits. Echoing the noble Lord, Lord May of Oxford, I hope that the review will, in turn, move to action.

I came to the deliberations of the committee with a fresh mind. I can see, alas, that we in the UK have been faltering in our national efforts to conquer this dreadful virus despite the supreme dedication of superb professionals and volunteers. We need renewed vigour and courage to seize this moment. Every new infection of a baby, a young person, a man or a women takes its toll on the patient and on their family and friends. Medical advances since the 1980s have been dramatic, yet no cure is in sight. It is on our watch now that we must be innovative and bold on prevention and compassionate to the all too many people who live with HIV.