Asked by: Baroness Hussein-Ece (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to continue promoting the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls globally, and what action they are taking to combat attacks on those rights.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is committed to promoting and advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), working with governments, multilateral partners and civil society. We use targeted funding, technical partnership and diplomatic engagement to provide strong leadership on SRHR.
The UK has a long history as a well-respected influential global leader on SRHR and will continue to defend and champion these fundamental rights in international fora, particularly for the most marginalised. This is supported by the UK's strategic Official Development Assistance funding. For example, on World AIDS Day in 2024, the Prime Minister announced the Grassroots and Counter Rollback programme. This strengthens local and national civil society organisations' and movements' ability to expand access to SRHR and counter rollback. It focuses on neglected issues, including safe abortion, and marginalised groups whose rights and access to services are being attacked.
Asked by: Baroness Hussein-Ece (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to continue to provide the current level of funding to the Global Fund.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK remains committed to tackling global health challenges and will continue to work with all international partners towards the collective goal of a healthier, safer and more prosperous world. We have long been a strong supporter of the Global Fund and are proud to be co-hosting the 8th replenishment this year in partnership with South Africa. Over the coming months, we will work through decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used, and the impact on specific programmes, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments.
Asked by: Baroness Hussein-Ece (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of inequalities in access to, and the quality of, reproductive, maternal and newborn healthcare services in fragile states.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is proud to champion and protect reproductive, maternal, and newborn health services, and seeks to take a 'no regrets' approach to supporting the provision of sexual and reproductive health services in all settings, including in conflict and crises.
Reproductive, maternal, child and newborn health outcomes are inextricably linked to strong health systems and the attainment of universal health coverage. The UK works with partners to enable health systems to respond quickly including in humanitarian disasters: from access to skilled health workers, to clean and sanitary health facilities to prevent infection and strong, predictable, supply chains. We provide core funding to the International Confederation of Midwives to strengthen midwifery globally, enabling midwives to save lives, reduce complications, and uphold the fundamental rights of women and girls including in humanitarian settings.
UK investment in the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) supports delivery of emergency reproductive health and dignity kits to meet immediate needs in acute crises and focuses on strengthening supply and healthcare systems in fragile states.
Asked by: Baroness Hussein-Ece (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the meeting between the Prime Minister and British Palestinian families on 22 October, what consideration they have given to implementing a pilot Child Evacuation Scheme to provide medical treatment for children from Gaza, as proposed by the families and the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Israel must engage with its partners urgently to establish sustained, safe and timely passage for patients who need medical or surgical interventions not available in Gaza. We recently announced £1m for the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, delivered through WHO Egypt, to support medically evacuated Palestinians from Gaza. The UK is also supporting the provision of essential healthcare to civilians in Gaza, including support to UK-MED for operating their field hospitals. The Government is keeping existing policies on medical evacuations and visa pathways under review in response to events in Gaza.
Asked by: Baroness Hussein-Ece (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the sexual and reproductive health rights programmes they support reach marginalised women and girls, and what data they collect to monitor this.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is committed to reaching the most marginalised. The Women's Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) Dividend programme focuses on reaching marginalised groups. Implementers report on indicators, including targets on the number of adolescents reached and how many clients are in multidimensional poverty. In 2022 a third of WISH clients were under 20 years old and 5% of clients were living with a severe disability. Regarding funding for the UNFPA Supplies partnership, UNFPA in-country assessments provide data on commodities reaching the last mile and UNFPA Supplies mid-term evaluation will include assessment for the most-left-behind groups.
Asked by: Baroness Hussein-Ece (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of official development assistance allocated to sexual and reproductive health rights targets populations in fragile and conflict-affected settings.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) annually reports on Official Development Assistance (ODA) expenditure via the Statistics on International Development publication (Statistics on International Development: final UK ODA spend 2023).
UK ODA reporting follows established sector codes and recipient countries designated by the OECD Development Assistance Committee (OECD DAC). We do not report on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) expenditure as it is not specified by OECD DAC and spans across multiple OECD sector codes.
Asked by: Baroness Hussein-Ece (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether future sexual and reproductive health rights funding will run for a minimum of five years as recommended in the International Development Committee's report The FCDO's approach to sexual and reproductive health, published 25 January 2024.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), and to maintaining a strong portfolio of financial support to the sector. Our approach to modernising development means working with others in a spirit of genuine partnership and respect and making good on our word. At present, there is no requirement for SRHR programmes to run for a minimum of five years, and future spend will depend upon the outcome of the multi-year Spending Review.
Asked by: Baroness Hussein-Ece (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to consider reciprocal exchange programmes of midwives as recommended in the International Development Committee's report The FCDO's approach to sexual and reproductive health, published 25 January 2024.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Reciprocal exchange programmes are not a specific recommendation in the January 2024 International Development Committee Report. Nonetheless, maternal, newborn and child health, including midwifery, is a priority for the FCDO. The FCDO recently signed an agreement with the International Confederation of Midwives, aiming to strengthen midwifery associations in partner countries.
Asked by: Baroness Hussein-Ece (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of Official Development Assistance related to sexual and reproductive health and rights goes to target populations in (1) humanitarian settings, and (2) fragile and conflict-affected settings.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Baroness Hussein-Ece (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to provide funding for future sexual and reproductive health and rights programmes for a minimum of five years, as recommended by the House of Commons International Development Select Committee.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation.