Health: Global Health

Lord Kakkar Excerpts

Monday 26th October 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

The Ebola crisis was indeed a wake-up call. There is no doubt that the leading role we play in the WHO is hugely important, so I agree fully with the noble Lord. The work we are doing on antimicrobial resistance is another example of the very important role the WHO can play, as does our Chief Medical Officer, Sally Davies.

[Lord Kakkar (CB)]

My Lords, I declare my interest as chair of University College London Partners and an officer of the all-party group. This report identifies that our country is No. 1 among the G7 nations in terms of the impact of its medical research, as judged by citation impact. How do Her Majesty’s Government propose to ensure that the NHS continues to develop the foundation for that medical research impact?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

The noble Lord raises an interesting point. Not only are there more citations of research conducted in Britain, but we co-operate with other countries far more than any other country. We also have in the BMJ, the Lancet and Nature the three leading medical and science magazines. The Government are determined to maintain Britain’s position as one of the leading medical research and life sciences nations in the world, and will carry on supporting that industry.