British Government confirms commitment to universal access
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Minister Stephen O'Brien confirms the British Government's continued commitment to Universal Access.
At an event marking World AIDS Day hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on HIV and AIDS and RED, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Minister Stephen O’Brien confirmed the British Government’s continued commitment to Universal Access to HIV prevention, AIDS treatment, care and support.
Minister Stephen O’Brien said: “The UK Government have committed to allocating 0.7 of our Gross National Income for overseas aid by 2013 and have ring-fenced our budget. This is a historical commitment. We have also put women and children’s health at the heart of our international development agenda and we expect that our Commitments made on women and children’s health will contribute to the survival of at least 50,000 more women in pregnancy and childbirth and 250,000 newborn babies and to provide ten million more couples with access to comprehensive family planning.
“The UK Government wholeheartedly supports the call for the virtual elimination of paediatric AIDS and we are working with others to scale up prevention of mother to child transmission services. To reach this goal, we need to adopt the comprehensive approach recommended by the World Health Organization, and we are committed to doing so by focusing where we have comparative advantage. This is on primary prevention of HIV among women of child-bearing age, and on prevention of unintended pregnancies among women living with HIV through our investments in family planning.”