15.11.2007
Turner, Desmond

That this House notes with grave concern that according to the World Health Organisation pneumococcal pneumonia and meningitis are responsible for up to 1.6 million deaths each year of which up to one million are children; further notes that 90 per cent. of pneumococcal pneumonia deaths occur in the developing world and that children with HIV/AIDS are up to 40 times more likely to contract pneumococcal disease; further notes that many of these deaths could be prevented with the use of a vaccine; welcomes the commitment by HM Treasury and the Department for International Development to support the pilot Advanced Market Commitment (AMC) for pneumococcal vaccines, which could save the lives of up to 5.4 million children by 2030; further notes the contribution which this programme will make towards the UK's commitment to meeting the United Nations' Millennium Development Goal 4 to reduce by two thirds the mortality rate among children under five by 2015; further welcomes the work of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pneumococcal Disease Prevention in the Developing World in response to the urgent need to improve child survival and as a forum for raising awareness among policymakers nationally, across Europe and around the world about the disease, its prevention through vaccination and international efforts to ensure sustainable financing; and hopes that the pneumococcal vaccine pilot AMC will pave the way for new vaccines against other childhood diseases.