Ivan Lewis – Britain should be proud of the progress made in battling pneumonia
Ivan Lewis MP, Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, writes for Left Foot Forward today on a visit to Bangladesh to see how UK aid is delivering value for money, concrete results and saving lives
Today is World Pneumonia Day and I am in Bangladesh to witness firsthand the UK supported healthcare programs that are helping save millions of lives. In particular I have been following the work of the GAVI alliance, which is supporting developing nations to roll out life-saving vaccines against the biggest killers in the developing world including pneumonia and diarrhoea.
The Labour Party has a proud reputation on international development and Gordon Brown was a key driver in ensuring the UK plays its full role in helping those less fortunate in the world.
In my position as shadow secretary of state for international development I am delighted to have the opportunity to see the work that we championed whilst in office, which the coalition government is continuing, is having life changing results in some of the world’s poorest nations.
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Great news to see that the Labour Party is continuing to support one of the most devastating but entirely preventable diseases in the world. The Labour Government was one of the first world governments to get behind the development of a vaccine through the Advance Market Commitment process. Now because of the success of that programme, countless lives will be saved and vital medical infrastructure will be able to be refocused on other health concerns. Congratulations to all involved including Labour, GAVI, PneumoADIP, the team behind World Pneumonia Day (http://worldpneumoniaday.org/) and all of the AMC donors including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Also, well done to the LCID team for increasing awareness around these issues.