Member of Parliament for the Cities of London & Westminster, Nickie Aiken, spoke out in Parliament to raise awareness of Hepatitis C and HIV in a question to the Leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt MP.
Speaking in the Chamber, Nickie said,
"We mark World Hepatitis Day on 28 July. I would like to take the opportunity to pay tribute to campaigner Philip Baldwin who has worked passionately to raise awareness of hepatitis C and HIV, and the stigma surrounding both diseases.
"As we mark the NHS’s 75th anniversary this week, I would also like to take the opportunity to highlight the progress that has been made in fighting those diseases. Thanks to research carried out at local hospitals, particularly at St Mary’s in my constituency, hep C and HIV are no longer the life sentences that they used to be.
"In light of that, will my right hon. Friend please consider a debate on the importance of Government support and funding for medical research to help us defeat previously thought indomitable diseases?"
Leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt MP, replied,
"I thank my hon. Friend for raising awareness about those very important areas. She will know that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has approved treatments that can now cure the hep C virus in over 90% of patients. We also have the commitment to ending new HIV transmissions by 2030, and we have just signed up to an international programme to eliminate the hepatitis virus by the same year. These are incredibly important matters. It is our Department of Health and Social Care, our NHS and our life sciences community that are helping these incredible achievements to happen."
Listen to Nickie's conversation with Philip Baldwin in her latest podcast here.
