On Wednesday 16 March, the Member of Parliament for Finchley & Golders Green, Mike Freer, spoke in the House of Commons during a session of oral questions to the Department of International Development. In the debate Mr Freer took the opportunity to highlight the fact that AIDS remains the number one global killer of women of reproductive age and questioned what more the Government can do in the efforts to tackle AIDS.
Mr Freer asked the Secretary of State:
“AIDS remains the No. 1 global killer of women of reproductive age. What more can DIFD Ministers do to ensure that tackling this remains a priority for this Government?”
Justine Greening MP, Secretary of State for International Development, reassured that the empowerment of girls and women are at the heart of the development agenda. Ms Greening highlighted the United Kingdom is the second largest funder of HIV prevention, care and treatment, and have pledged up to £1 billion to the global fund in the efforts to tackle the spread of HIV and AIDS.
The Secretary of State said:
“My hon. Friend is right. In fact, in 2013 we had stats that showed that an adolescent girl gets infected with HIV every two minutes. We very much put the empowerment of girls and women at the heart of our development agenda. We are the second largest funder of HIV prevention, care and treatment, and we have pledged up to £1 billion to the global fund.”
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