HIV Testing Week

Bell Ribeiro-Addy Excerpts

Thursday 13th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Clapham and Brixton Hill) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairpersonship, Dr Allin-Khan. I congratulate the right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell) on bringing forward this important debate and on the work he continues to do with my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi) on the APPG.

While we will spend most of this afternoon’s debate speaking about the goal to end new HIV transmissions by 2030, I feel it is important to recognise just how far we have come in our understanding of HIV and treatments for it, and in our education and awareness raising. We have seen so much progress in the fight against HIV since the 1980s crisis. Although there is still a way to go, it is through open discussions, such as the one we are having today, that we have been able to reduce the number of HIV cases in the UK down to an estimated 113,500. But it is thought that 4,700 people are unaware that they are living with HIV, and that is why it is vital that we continue to push to increase testing. We know that when caught early HIV is treatable and that the quality of life of those living with HIV is far better than it was back in the ’80s. Unknowing carriers risk not only not getting the treatment they need or getting it too late, but unknowingly infecting others. Testing is easy, quick and can save lives.

We know that testing among men who have sex with other men is high. This is incredibly encouraging, but we must do more to increase testing among heterosexual men, heterosexual and bisexual women, and the trans and non-binary community. The stereotype that HIV is only something that affects men who have sex with men is not true. In fact, the increase in infections in 2023 was attributed to sex between men and women, with a 35% increase among heterosexual men and a 30% increase among heterosexual women.

We should be doing more to encourage testing among all groups. That means greater investment in local and community-based public health initiatives, so I am pleased that the Government are investing in local government public health. I am particularly pleased to hear about the £38 million that is being awarded to my borough of Lambeth, which will go a long way towards supporting people with HIV, preventing HIV and funding other public health initiatives that the borough runs.

My hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Jim Dickson) spoke about the important role that councils play, and it is a crucial role indeed. They encourage testing and are well-poised to target the right communities and areas to increase awareness, and they can tailor messaging in the way that is needed. The work of local councils and community-based organisations has really helped to increase testing rates and reduce stigma. It has also helped to ensure that as many people as possible know their HIV status, and the recent round of Government funding will continue supporting that work.

I hope to see more from the Government on the international front. We must actively look to support international efforts to stop HIV transmissions, especially at a time when President Trump is running his reckless review of American aid and has put the future of the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in the balance. Any credible attempt to end HIV transmission must include a global response. When it comes to ending HIV transmission, we are not an island. Ending new cases here will only last for so long if we are not contributing to efforts to end them abroad. Where the US is stepping down from efforts to tackle global HIV transmissions, we should be stepping up.

As it stands, we are already not on track to reach our target of ending new cases by 2030, but I hope that today we will hear insights from the Minister on the steps the Government are taking to increase testing and to end new cases in the UK and abroad. As I am sure other hon. Members do, I eagerly await the Government’s new HIV action plan in the summer.

Endometriosis: Women in the Workplace

Bell Ribeiro-Addy Excerpts

Wednesday 15th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Gill Furniss]

I thank the right hon. Member for that intervention, and I absolutely agree. I pay tribute to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and to the right hon. Member for the efforts he has put in over many years.

Stigma and a lack of awareness by employers means that reproductive health conditions can have a significant effect on women’s experiences at work. It is almost impossible to remain at work when suffering from chronic pain and the mental toll that these conditions cause.

[Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Clapham and Brixton Hill) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for the fantastic speech she is making. Endometriosis UK, which provides the secretariat of the all-party parliamentary group on endometriosis, of which I am the chair, released a report last year that found that 47% of women had visited their GP 10 or more times with symptoms prior to diagnosis. Many of those women are likely to face issues with getting time off work to attend these appointments, or experience some form of disciplinary action because of it. Does my hon. Friend agree that being understanding and tolerant about the number of appointments needed to secure a diagnosis is critical to being an endometriosis-friendly employer, and that, ultimately, we need to take steps to ensure that the process does not take several years and so many appointments?

[Gill Furniss]

I thank my hon. Friend. The average length of time taken is now eight years, which is not good.

Many women feel unable to speak openly about endometriosis as they would other conditions, as if it were something to be ashamed of. Research shows that 23% of women take time off work because of period health issues while 80% lie about reasons for absence if they are related to periods. Having said that, endometriosis is not just about periods; it is a whole-body complaint. I do not think there is an organ in the body up to the chest that has not been found to be affected by what is a crippling disease.

World AIDS Day

Bell Ribeiro-Addy Excerpts

Wednesday 27th November 2024 Westminster Hall

[Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Clapham and Brixton Hill) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Danny Beales) for bringing forward this crucial debate. I will start by commending campaigners and activists who have worked tirelessly to ensure that we have international awareness of HIV and AIDS.

The legacy of racism surrounding the AIDS pandemic casts a long and enduring shadow for communities such as mine in Lambeth, and indeed across Africa and the Caribbean. Although the impact of the virus and our understanding of it has evolved, the legacy of racist attitudes towards AIDS continues to have consequences for black communities in the healthcare system. HIV-related racism and stigma increases vulnerability to infection in black communities, and those who are HIV-positive are less likely to come forward to be tested or to access treatment and health services.

Last year, more than one in three HIV diagnoses in Lambeth was classified as late, meaning that the immune system had already suffered damage. Across England, 44% of diagnoses are late and women are 51% more likely to receive such delayed diagnoses. Early detection saves lives, offering effective treatment that ensures that those living with HIV can lead long and healthy lives and not pass on the virus once it is suppressed.

People who are not infected are still at high risk because HIV stigma can prevent them from accessing information and education. Cultural taboos linked to sex and sexually transmitted diseases in black communities can also have an impact on people’s access to HIV prevention and education, which directly increases the vulnerability of those who are not infected.

Racist assumptions around HIV and AIDS have also had consequences in other areas of the healthcare system. As recently as 2021, the NHS had a discriminatory blood donation ban on black donors due to flawed science around HIV. The ban had a direct impact on sufferers of sickle cell, an illness that predominantly affects black communities. Treatment is dependent on blood transfusions, particularly for a rare blood group such as Ro, which is common in black people.

The legacy of those rules has resulted in a reluctance among the black community to come forward and donate blood. That is why I commend the work done by organisations such as the Terrence Higgins Trust, which makes a concerted effort to combat outdated and discriminatory policies and all the damage that they cause. I could not allow this opportunity to pass without mentioning the new Brixton blood donation centre in my constituency, which is opening in a few weeks. I extend an invitation to the Minister, and all Members, to come and visit the new clinic and to open their veins and donate. It is so important that we challenge the misgivings around blood donation and encourage people to donate.

Ending new HIV cases is not just a medical issue; it is a social justice issue. We have to challenge the racism and discrimination that prevents individuals from accessing care, education and support.

Oral Answers to Questions

Bell Ribeiro-Addy Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I welcome the hon. Lady back to her place. We worked constructively on the Opposition Benches together and, regardless of the size of the Government’s majority, we intend to work constructively with her on this side of the election, too. By extension, I congratulate her colleagues on their election. I have discovered that I have 72 new pen pals, all sitting there on the Liberal Democrat Benches, and they have been writing to me about a whole manner of projects. My colleagues and I will get back to them.

The hon. Lady is right that this is not just about the new hospitals programme, important though that is; the condition of the whole NHS estate is poor. In fact, backlog maintenance, the direct cost of bringing the estate into compliance with mandatory fire safety requirements and statutory safety legislation, currently stands at £11.6 billion. That is the legacy of the last Conservative Government.

[Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Clapham and Brixton Hill) (Lab)]

11. If he will take steps to help increase the number of accommodation units available for parents whose babies have been admitted to neonatal care units.

[The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on her re-election and thank her for raising this important issue. It is not right that three out of four parents are not able to stay with their critically ill baby overnight at such an important point in that new relationship. NHS England recently concluded a review of neonatal estates. It is in the early stages of analysing the findings, which will be used to inform the next steps. We are all determined to support parents to be involved in every aspect of their baby’s care.

[Bell Ribeiro-Addy]

I congratulate my right hon. and hon. Friends on their re-elections and on taking their places. Recent research from the charity Bliss showed that when a baby receives neonatal care, their parents are routinely expected to leave them in hospital overnight for weeks or even months at a time. Its research found that for every 10 babies who need to stay overnight in neonatal care, there is only one room available for a parent to stay with them. How will the Minister ensure that the existing guidance about facilities for families is followed, and how will she ensure that trusts can access the resources they need to stop the separation of babies and their parents?

[Karin Smyth]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that the separation of babies and their parents at that time is not acceptable, and about the shocking state of the estate, as we have just heard. We will look at the findings of the NHS review very quickly, and I will be happy to get back to her on those specific points.