UN High-level Meetings in 2023

Fabian Hamilton Excerpts

Tuesday 11th July 2023 Westminster Hall

[Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East) (Lab)]

As always, it is a pleasure to speak in a debate with you in the Chair, Mr Twigg. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, Southall (Mr Sharma) on securing the debate because it could not come at a more important time in the history of humanity. We have heard from three excellent Back-Bench speakers today plus the Scottish National party spokesperson, the hon. Member for Glasgow North (Patrick Grady).

Our first speaker was of course the person that tabled this debate, my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, Southall, who said that the pressing global challenges are not limited to any continent or nation. That is at the basis and heart of our discussion. In his excellent speech, he also said that the UN is a testament to the power of global human resolve and that that is the context of the debate. The dates of 20, 21 and 22 September are key; they are the foundation of this debate and are very important in the future history of human global health.

My hon. Friend is the chair of the APPG on global TB and he gave an excellent exposition of the importance of tackling tuberculosis. He explained that many Heads of State and Government will be present at the three meetings. Will the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and the Minister for Development be there? I await the Minister’s response. My hon. Friend emphasised that 192 UN member states need to commit to the delivery of health for all and that nearly 50% of people who receive a TB diagnosis will experience catastrophic consequences for them and their families. That is an extraordinary statistic. He underlined that by reminding us that tuberculosis is one of humanity’s oldest diseases and that it is a disease of poverty, closely linked to other factors of poverty. It is preventable and highly curable, but the lack of worldwide political will is preventing us from wiping out the disease, which is a threat to global human health.

We then heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Fleur Anderson) , who is an expert in issues of water sanitation and hygiene and is co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for WASH. I have heard her speak before on these issues—one great thing about our Parliament is the number of experts across the House who understand and know their subjects so well. I was delighted to hear my hon. Friend talking about the issues because she knows what she is talking about. She said something very important: this is a matter of strong interest to all our constituents across the country. I have had loads of emails about the subject, as we all have.

We then heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, West Derby (Ian Byrne) who talked with passion about his city and again emphasised that this is not just an academic issue—this is not a matter for UN high-level meetings alone. It matters to our constituents and that is why we are here today. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) is normally in this Chamber; this is the first debate I have taken part in for years without him being present. I hope someone will pass that message on to him. We have heard some excellent contributions, and I have certainly increased my knowledge of the issues. I hope we all have.

As we have heard, the UN will hold three high-level meetings in the week of the UN General Assembly this year. In our polarised world, with conflict raging on the edge of Europe, I think it is important that we reach consensus wherever possible. That is why dialogue on tackling tuberculosis, preparing for the next pandemic and ensuring universal health coverage is vital to our collective human future. Given that those issues could have impacts on every corner of the globe, it is important that the meetings succeed and result in a political declaration that member states can agree and properly implement. That collective work starts today—here in the House of Commons.

Perhaps the closest issue in our own memories and to our own interests is pandemic preparedness. The covid-19 pandemic impacted everyone across the UK and almost everyone across the world. We know that in our country 212,000 people tragically died as a result of the virus, that many businesses were forced to close, that children lost millions of hours of teaching time and that NHS waiting lists remained far too long. It is worth reminding colleagues that it did not have to be that way and that the mismanagement of the pandemic’s aftermath by this Government has played a part in the problems that continue within our country.

The UK was badly prepared for a pandemic. NHS waiting lists were at record levels even before covid-19 came on the scene and at that time we already had 100,000 staff shortages in our health service and 112,000 vacancies in social care. Such a complete lack of readiness for an earth-shattering event such as the covid-19 pandemic must never be allowed to happen again.

Even after the Government had been warned in 2016 that the NHS was not prepared for an influenza pandemic, they continued to reduce stockpiles of personal protective equipment and the number of hospital beds. With that in mind, does the Minister believe that this Government are best placed to negotiate a political declaration on pandemic preparedness with our allies and colleagues at the United Nations, and what assessment have our allies made of our lack of preparedness for the covid-19 pandemic?

Labour is committed to putting the UK on a better footing at these high-level meetings by championing our domestic agenda and our NHS. The next Labour Government will deliver a new 10-year plan for the NHS, including one of the biggest expansions of the NHS workforce in our history. That includes doubling the number of medical school places to 15,000 a year, training more GPs, more nurses and more health visitors each year. We will also harness our excellent life sciences and improve technology in order to reduce preventable illness.

Secondly, the meeting on universal health coverage is welcome and a long-overdue follow-up from the 2019 meeting, which is another impact of the covid-19 pandemic. Universal health coverage is not on track and targets have not been reached. As we in the UK have the luxury of our NHS, which guarantees free treatment for all who need it, we have a huge part to play on the international stage on universal health coverage. Our history shows that the UK can be a leader in reducing healthcare-related poverty and can work with the world’s most vulnerable people to ensure that they also have access to free medical treatment in their own countries. Again, given this Government’s complete mismanagement of our NHS, does the Minister believe that his Government’s failures put us in a good place to take the lead on such issues at the United Nations?

Finally, I want to touch on the global fight against tuberculosis, which my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, Southall so carefully and brilliantly explained. TB is still a global killer. In 2021, it killed 1.6 million people, even though fewer people are now diagnosed with the illness. However, the more that TB spreads globally, the more it may have an impact on these shores, as many speakers have outlined. That is why it is vital that we assist those countries that are struggling in the fight against TB, particularly Bangladesh, the Congo, Pakistan, Sierra Leone and Uganda, among many others. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that we play our part in tackling TB abroad and what benefits does that have for us at home?

As the shadow International Development Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston (Preet Kaur Gill), made clear in a previous debate on these issues, the task of negotiating an effective international treaty on pandemic preparedness will be a historic task, but we simply must achieve it. Such a treaty will save hundreds of thousands of lives in the future and will provide the foundation for sustained global economic recovery. We need to show our allies and fellow members of the United Nations that we in the United Kingdom are seriously committed to tackling these issues, and I believe that that work starts here. That is why this Government must urgently get a grip of the many NHS crises that have engulfed our country over the last 13 years.