Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it is their policy to renew their commitments to nutrition (1) at, or (2) before, the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth summit.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We are still assessing options for any new commitment to nutrition now that both the Olympic pledging event and the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit have been postponed. We await further details of the new format for the Summit. We will continue to invest in programmes to address malnutrition beyond 2020 and we will continue to work with the Government of Japan to ensure the future Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit is a success.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 19 May (HL4100), when they will provide an update on their plans for UK investment to prevent and treat malnutrition.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The UK remains committed to preventing and treating malnutrition as part of our commitment to end the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children. We will continue to invest in programmes to address malnutrition beyond 2020 and we will continue to work with the Government of Japan to ensure the future Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit is a success.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on food security and nutrition globally.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Services to address food insecurity and malnutrition are part of DFID’s immediate response to COVID-19 in many of the countries where we work.
We are supporting UNICEF to make sure life-saving supplies to treat acute malnutrition continue to reach children at most risk across the Sahel as well as in Somalia, Nigeria and Yemen. We are also using programmes in agriculture, social protection and humanitarian assistance to tackle the factors driving COVID-19 induced food insecurity. We are a major funder of existing multilateral programmes in these areas. We have also committed £15 million to the World Food Programme’s recent urgent appeals.
In all cases we continue to put the poorest and most marginalised at the heart of our programmes to address the immediate and underlying causes of hunger and malnutrition, including in the face of COVID-19.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan to ensure (1) the continuation, and (2) the provision, of Nutrition for Growth funding at the start of 2021.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Global commitments to nutrition made at the 2013 Nutrition for Growth Summit come to an end this year. Continued investment to prevent and treat malnutrition is important, particularly as countries face worsening levels of malnutrition in the face of COVID-19.
DFID is assessing options for the UK commitment now that both the Olympic pledging event and the main Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit have been postponed. The UK remains committed to preventing and treating malnutrition as part of our commitment to end the preventable deaths of mothers, new-borns and children. We will provide an update on our plans in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to help solve the humanitarian and political crisis in Syria, and to help in the redevelopment of its infrastructure.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK is at the forefront of the humanitarian response to the Syria crisis, providing lifesaving aid to millions of Syrians, helping Syrian refugees to remain in host countries in the region and enabling host countries to accommodate them. The UK has pledged £2.46 billion since the crisis began, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. We have helped to provide nearly 25 million food rations, over 9.5 million relief packages and over 7 million health consultations.
The UK supports fully the Syrian peace talks under the auspices of the UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura in Geneva. A negotiated political transition is the only way to end this terrible conflict. While the conflict is ongoing, our priority is to deliver lifesaving humanitarian aid those affected by the crisis. Support to reconstruction can only take place when a comprehensive, genuine and inclusive political transition is firmly under way.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to increase investment in improving nutrition and health outcomes for infants and young children, in the light of the <i>Bilateral Development Review 2016</i>.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Bilateral Development Review sets out how we will invest to deliver our manifesto commitments. These include improving the nutrition of 50million people by 2020 and saving the lives of 1.4million children, through immunising 76million and working towards ending preventable child and maternal deaths.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of investing in early child development in the developing world.
Answered by Lord Bates
Evidence suggests that supporting children in their early years through health, education, nutrition and responsive care improves their learning potential and yields enormous long term benefits. By 2020 the UK will improve nutrition for 50million children under 5, women of childbearing age and adolescent girls, immunise 76million children against killer diseases and support 11million children in the poorest countries to gain a decent education.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to integrate nutrition into UK-funded reproductive, maternal, child and adolescent health programmes in the developing world.
Answered by Lord Bates
DFID’s publication ‘Choices for women: planned pregnancies, safe births and healthy newborns’, provides guidance for our investments in maternal and newborn health, including nutrition for adolescents, pregnant women and babies. DFID Kenya, for example, has enabled a high-impact set of nutrition interventions to be incorporated into the health system and has strengthened Government capacity to deliver these interventions alongside other essential services. The latest review of our bilateral programmes that support maternal, newborn and child health indicates that nutrition has indeed been incorporated in these investments.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote progress towards (1) the World Health Assembly 2025 global nutrition targets, and (2) Sustainable Development Goal 2 to end all forms of malnutrition by 2030.
Answered by Lord Bates
DFID has committed to improve the nutrition of 50million people by 2020 to enable more countries to get on track to meet World Health Assembly and Sustainable Development Goal targets. We are working closely with partners to make sure countries receive effective support to accelerate reductions in malnutrition. Our support to the Global Nutrition Report helps monitor whether countries are on track to reach global targets.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have fully disbursed the commitments made at the 2013 Nutrition for Growth Summit; and if not, how much has been disbursed, and when they will disburse the remaining commitments.
Answered by Lord Bates
DFID provides annual updates on progress towards Nutrition for Growth (N4G) commitments through the Global Nutrition Report. DFID disbursed 40% of its N4G spending commitment in 2013 and 2014. The remaining funds committed will be disbursed gradually up to 2020 as nutrition programmes are implemented.