Ebola Response Update

Jeremy Lefroy Excerpts

Tuesday 20th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Harriett Baldwin]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right to draw attention to the very important role that these key partnerships play around the world in strengthening health systems. She mentioned Liverpool which, as the House will know, does amazing work in this area and on neglected tropical diseases. When I was in Uganda, I saw the incredibly strong partnership between the Uganda Virus Research Institute and the University of London through its London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Those incredibly important partnerships are a win-win for the developing world, and a win for the UK.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

I declare an interest as a trustee of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Has my hon. Friend found that the amazing expertise gained by her Department as a result of that tragic situation in 2014 has been retained and enhanced in the meantime, or are we having to learn things again?

[Harriett Baldwin]

I mentioned some of the ways in which knowledge of dealing with these outbreaks has been acquired and improved on as a result of the outbreak in west Africa. Much of the expertise in Public Health England was drawn on very early in the previous outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I reiterate that the response is running into challenges not because of a lack of expertise, a lack of vaccine or a lack of dedicated personnel willing to deliver it, but because of the conflict on the ground. People are attacking peacekeepers in the area. Therefore, we call on all participants to eschew violence and allow health workers to do the job that they need to do, because that is the real threat in this outbreak.