May. 20 2024
Source Page: PM statement on the Infected Blood Inquiry: 20 May 2024Found: Those with haemophilia or bleeding disorders were infected with HIV, Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B through
Mentions:
1: Rishi Sunak (Con - Richmond (Yorks)) Those with haemophilia or bleeding disorders were infected with HIV, hepatitis C and hepatitis B through - Speech Link
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to improve rates of retention in HIV care among (a) Black African women, (b) Black Caribbean women, (c) White women and (d) women of other ethnicities.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The HIV Action Plan is the cornerstone of our approach to drive forward progress and achieve our goal of ending new human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) transmissions, and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030. A key principle of our approach is to ensure that all populations benefit equally from improvements made in HIV outcomes, including through testing, and high-quality care for those with a positive HIV status.
While the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a significant drop in HIV testing, we are pleased that services are recovering, and testing rates among gay and bisexual men are now at the highest level on record, with a 23% increase from 2019 to 2022. However, more progress is needed across all groups, which we are targeting through various initiatives.
As part of the HIV Action Plan, the Department funds the HIV Prevention Programme, which annually runs a National HIV Testing Week (NHTW) campaign to encourage those in underrepresented groups, such as women and black ethnic groups, to test for HIV. In 2023, we introduced the self-testing option, which we know is very popular with harder to reach groups. During the 2024 NHTW campaign, self-testing orders from black African women nearly doubled when compared with 2023, and orders of these kits by heterosexual women increased by 39%.
The introduction of opt-out testing for HIV in emergency departments, in the areas with extremely high diagnosed HIV prevalence, is also a crucial strategy to help us identify those living with undiagnosed or untreated HIV. By normalising testing as part of an emergency department attendance when blood is drawn, we help reach communities that are currently underserved by testing opportunities, such as black African and black Caribbean ethnic groups and women, and reduce the number of people presenting with a late HIV diagnosis.
A subgroup of the HIV Action Plan Implementation Steering Group (ISG), the Retention and Re-engagement in Care Task and Finish Group, is providing advice on increasing the number of people retained and re-engaged in care and receiving effective medical care, in particularly considering women and other groups disproportionally affected by HIV, which will be reviewed by the ISG in due course.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help ensure that HIV testing rates among women (a) return to and (b) exceed pre covid-19 levels.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The HIV Action Plan is the cornerstone of our approach to drive forward progress and achieve our goal of ending new human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) transmissions, and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030. A key principle of our approach is to ensure that all populations benefit equally from improvements made in HIV outcomes, including through testing, and high-quality care for those with a positive HIV status.
While the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a significant drop in HIV testing, we are pleased that services are recovering, and testing rates among gay and bisexual men are now at the highest level on record, with a 23% increase from 2019 to 2022. However, more progress is needed across all groups, which we are targeting through various initiatives.
As part of the HIV Action Plan, the Department funds the HIV Prevention Programme, which annually runs a National HIV Testing Week (NHTW) campaign to encourage those in underrepresented groups, such as women and black ethnic groups, to test for HIV. In 2023, we introduced the self-testing option, which we know is very popular with harder to reach groups. During the 2024 NHTW campaign, self-testing orders from black African women nearly doubled when compared with 2023, and orders of these kits by heterosexual women increased by 39%.
The introduction of opt-out testing for HIV in emergency departments, in the areas with extremely high diagnosed HIV prevalence, is also a crucial strategy to help us identify those living with undiagnosed or untreated HIV. By normalising testing as part of an emergency department attendance when blood is drawn, we help reach communities that are currently underserved by testing opportunities, such as black African and black Caribbean ethnic groups and women, and reduce the number of people presenting with a late HIV diagnosis.
A subgroup of the HIV Action Plan Implementation Steering Group (ISG), the Retention and Re-engagement in Care Task and Finish Group, is providing advice on increasing the number of people retained and re-engaged in care and receiving effective medical care, in particularly considering women and other groups disproportionally affected by HIV, which will be reviewed by the ISG in due course.
Special Report May. 17 2024
Committee: International Development Committee (Department: Department for International Development)Found: Third Special Report - The FCDO’s approach to sexual and reproductive health: Government Response to
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will publish details of his Department's bilateral expenditure that has directly targeted tackling HIV and AIDS in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK remains a significant funder in the HIV response. In (i) 2021 and (ii) 2022 total bilateral expenditure for HIV and AIDS was (i) £5,831,984 and (ii) £10,035,256 respectively. Of this total Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office bilateral spend was (i) £4,548,553 and (ii) £9,916,750 for 2021 and 2022 respectively. This includes our funding to the Clinton Health Access Initiative to further improve access to essential HIV medicines and our funding to the Robert Carr Fund to support initiatives with grassroots organisations, including key populations, as part of the global HIV response.
Figures for 2023 are not yet available. They will be published in Autumn 2024.
May. 16 2024
Source Page: I. Draft Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health education: Statutory guidance for governing bodies, proprietors, head teachers, principals, senior leadership teams, teachers. 44p. II. Review of the Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health education statutory guidance. Government consultation. 27p. III. Letter dated 16/05/2024 from Gillian Keegan MP to the Deposited papers clerk regarding the above documents for deposit in the House libraries. 1p.Found: Draft Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health education: Statutory
Mentions:
1: Lord Cashman (Lab - Life peer) Bank: targeted sanctions on named individuals and on access to individual assets held in the UK and - Speech Link
2: Lord Fowler (XB - Life peer) There is a terrible worldwide toll of over 600,000 deaths a year from HIV and AIDS. - Speech Link
3: Lord Bellingham (Con - Life peer) free and fair elections? - Speech Link
4: Lord Benyon (Con - Life peer) free and fair elections? - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Virendra Sharma (Lab - Ealing, Southall) tackling the TB, malaria and HIV epidemics, helping to save nearly 60 million lives since its inception - Speech Link
2: Chris Law (SNP - Dundee West) vaccine inequity, but to manufacture treatments for a range of diseases, including diabetes, cancer, HIV - Speech Link
3: Catherine West (Lab - Hornsey and Wood Green) tuberculosis, but he has also shone on AIDS and malaria, and I thank him for that. - Speech Link
4: Andrew Mitchell (Con - Sutton Coldfield) The wider work to prevent and treat diseases such as malaria, HIV and TB is also helping to save countless - Speech Link
May. 08 2024
Source Page: Alkyl nitrites: ACMD exemption considerationFound: The Attitudes to, and Understanding of, Risk of Acquisition of HIV ( AURAH ) study of HIV -negative