Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what urgent action they are taking, together with international partners, to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global efforts to address (1) HIV and AIDS, (2) tuberculosis, and (3) malaria.

COVID-19 threatens to reverse hard-won gains in HIV, TB and malaria. This Government is working hard with international partners to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on global efforts to address these diseases.

Many of our partners are taking urgent action on all three diseases, including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The UK is the second biggest donor to the Global Fund's fifth and sixth replenishments. To date, the Global Fund has provided up to US $1 billion to help countries adapt HIV, TB and malaria programmes in the face of COVID-19, ensuring essential services such as testing, treatment and access to medicines can continue and also to strengthen health systems more broadly.

The UK is also supporting marginalised groups at risk of HIV - such as LGBT+ people, sex workers, mothers and young children - to advocate for their needs and rights in the pandemic. And we continue to invest in research and product development, working with partners to provide tools that are urgently needed to fight all three diseases. For example, UK support to Unitaid is enabling developing countries to access pioneering technology for HIV, TB and malaria.