Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Grant Shapps and Stuart Andrew

Wednesday 8th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

4. What progress she has made towards achieving the aim of the London declaration on neglected tropical diseases to eradicate such diseases by 2020.

[The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Grant Shapps)]

The UK is delivering on the commitment we made and our programmes are protecting millions of people from these diseases. My right hon. Friend the Minister of State for International Development participated in the recent launch of the third progress report on the London declaration.

[Stuart Andrew]

By funding the global trachoma mapping project—the largest such project ever attempted—will my right hon. Friend say what the Department aims to achieve and how the lessons learned from that project can be used in the ongoing fight against other neglected tropical diseases?

[Grant Shapps]

My hon. Friend is right to point out the importance of accurately mapping trachoma. That will enable us better to apply the appropriate actions and activities to rid the world of the worst blindness disease in the world today.