Air India Plane Crash
Sojan Joseph Excerpts(6 days, 22 hours ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Falconer
I thank the hon. Member for his kind words about me and the officials, and I join him in sending my truly heartfelt condolences to his constituents for the loss of life.
Sojan Joseph (Ashford) (Lab)
I extend my heartfelt sympathies to all those, including the many British and Indian families, who have lost loved ones. The UK and India are closely connected, and many people in both our countries are grieving after this dreadful crash. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Foreign Office staff working in the UK and India to support the families and loved ones of all those affected. I understand that around 120 victims have been formally identified using DNA samples. What assistance is the UK providing to the Indian authorities to ensure that the remaining victims can be formally identified as quickly as possible?
Mr Falconer
Regrettably, in incidents of this scale, identification tends to take some time. Through family liaison officers in the UK and consular staff, we are trying to support British nationals and those affected in India and here in the UK to enable the contribution of DNA. If any right hon. or hon. Member wants to ensure that their constituents get support through that process in India or here in the UK, they should please not hesitate to be in touch.
Gavi and the Global Fund
Sojan Joseph Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Sojan Joseph (Ashford) (Lab)
While noting the excellent work that Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Global Fund do in the fight against AIDS and malaria, as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for global tuberculosis I want to focus my remarks on the need to secure continued funding for programmes to tackle tuberculosis.
TB remains one of the most significant infectious diseases worldwide. It was responsible for the deaths of 1.25 million people in 2023. The World Health Organisation says it is highly likely that the disease has
“returned to being the world’s leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, following three years in which it was replaced by…COVID”.
TB is a preventable and curable disease, but if it is not treated, someone who has active TB can spread the disease to as many as 20 people each year. Given how quickly covid spread across the globe, ending TB is critical for all of us in today’s globalised world. Indeed, TB cases in this country are currently on the rise.
As we heard at the APPG’s meeting earlier this week, the latest figures indicate that there was a 13% increase in reported cases in England last year. That takes TB numbers above pre-covid 19 levels and reverses the previous downward trend. The latest figures also show that the city of Leicester has the highest rates of TB, overtaking the borough of Newham in London. Although the focus of this afternoon’s debate is global health, it is worth reflecting on the fact that the Government have inherited a steady increase in the number of TB cases domestically since 2022. It is therefore in our own interests to continue to work to eradicate TB.
As the leading international funder for TB programmes, the Global Fund is a critical partner in helping to achieve the goal of finding and treating 45 million people between 2023 and 2027. “Missing” people with TB—people who are not diagnosed, treated or reported—are a major challenge in the fight against the disease and help to contribute to drug-resistant TB.
Drug-resistant TB does not respond to standard first-line antibiotics, so treating it is costlier, more complex and more prolonged, and it can take three to four times as long to treat it. If cases of drug-resistant TB continue to increase, it could eventually pose a risk to global health security, including in high-income countries.
The Global Fund is the largest external source of financing for drug-resistant TB responses in low and middle-income countries, and its work in this area is important. Work is being done to safeguard the decades of progress that have been made in the fight against the disease. Thanks to the work of the Global Fund, 7.1 million people with TB were diagnosed and treated in 2023. I therefore ask the Minister to reassure the House that the Government will continue to fund the Global Fund to eradicate TB from the globe.
India-Pakistan: Escalation
Sojan Joseph Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Falconer
The Prime Minister spoke to Prime Minister Modi yesterday, before these events. We have been in touch overnight and throughout the day with the Indian Government, and I have been in touch throughout the course of the day with the Pakistani Government as well.
Sojan Joseph (Ashford) (Lab)
Everyone in this House knows that India has suffered a number of terrorist attacks over the years, including one on the Indian Parliament. Just last month, 26 innocent lives were lost following a devastating act of terrorism in Pahalgam. Although India has a right to defend itself and its people, does the Minister agree that war is not good for both sides, and that it is time for de-escalation and for Pakistan to work with India to eradicate terrorism from the region?
Mr Falconer
I agree with my hon. Friend that de-escalation is vital, and it is to that end that our efforts are dedicated.