Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:43 pm on 16 November 2021.
Thank you. As you say, today we do mark World COPD Day. It's an opportunity to highlight the impact of COPD and consider the impact that the pandemic is also having on people with COPD. We're very much committed to improving care and outcomes for people living with this condition, and we've got a number of nationally led programmes in place. We've also announced £240 million of in-year funding to support NHS recovery, and that includes £1 million for chronic condition management in primary care. It's really important that people with COPD make use of the COPD app that's currently being developed here in Wales by the NHS, as I think that will help both individuals who have the condition and also the NHS work together better.
In relation to your second point around cervical cancer, as you say, it's a year on Thursday since the WHO committed to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health issue, and we fully support their strategy to have elimination of cervical cancer by 2030. We know that will be achieved by vaccination, by screening, and by the treatment of pre-cancerous lesions. We're really proud that Cervical Screening Wales was the first UK cervical screening programme to fully roll out high-risk HPV testing as a primary scheme back in 2018. And since 2008, girls here in Wales aged 12 and 13 have been offered the HPV vaccine. We know that that combination of immunisation and screening is really having a positive impact, and I think it's down to us all to make sure we encourage our constituents to take full advantage of that screening.