Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Baroness Chalker of Wallasey Excerpts

Tuesday 16th July 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chalker of Wallasey (Con)]

Will my noble friend consult her colleagues in the Foreign Office? I think that excellent work is being done with vaccinations but there is a need for a political dialogue in eastern Congo to persuade people, through the local communities, that vaccination is not dangerous. There is a terrible fear of the needle—that it is bringing in the disease—so we need not just medical treatment but some psychological warfare, as I might call it, to persuade local leaders to encourage the take-up of vaccination.

[Baroness Stedman-Scott]

I can only agree with my noble friend about how important vaccination is. We know about its benefits and how safe it is. It is common for people to be afraid of needles, so it is not an easy matter. Perhaps I may take noble Lords back to the point that the right reverend Prelate made about the 800 pastors whom the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation trained. They are working at grass-roots level to ensure that prevention is on the agenda—vaccination is a great contributor to that—and that the culture is changed. But I will take back my noble friend’s point regarding the Foreign Office and will see what I can do.