Asked by: Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking through their support to Unitaid to improve access to affordable prevention, screening and treatment tools for cervical cancer in low- and middle-income countries; and how they will ensure that this investment is sustained.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the noble Baroness to the answer provided on 30 January 2025 to question 25707, a copy of which has been reproduced below for ease of reference:
Unitaid are a leading funder of innovative tools to find and treat cervical cancer in low- and middle-income countries, with HPV tests the most accurate way to identify if a woman is at higher risk of developing cervical cancer. Together with partners, Unitaid's interventions lowered the cost of HPV testing by nearly 40 per cent and reduced the price of portable thermal ablation devices for treating precancerous lesions by more than 45 per cent. Unitaid's work is laying the groundwork for national cervical cancer elimination programs worldwide. We highly value our Unitaid partnership and have contributed more than half a billion pounds in funding.