Philippines: Typhoon Odette

Debate between Baroness Manzoor and Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

Wednesday 5th January 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

The noble Lord makes a hugely important point. One of the problems in humanitarian circumstances is not just making a commitment to provide support but getting it to where it is needed on the ground, and for that we need to rely on whichever avenues exist and best suit those purposes. The church networks that he just described are one such avenue, and we will continue to use them for the deployment of our humanitarian assistance.

[Baroness Manzoor (Con)]

My Lords, the £1 million support that the Government are giving is very much appreciated and welcome. In addition, what are the Government doing in regard to supporting immunisation programmes at this time of need?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

My Lords, I take from the question that the immunisation relates to Covid. We anticipate that, because of the difficulties of deploying vaccines, Covid cases will rise. We are absolutely committed, as we have been since the start of the pandemic, to supporting the rollout of vaccinations across the world, particularly in vulnerable countries. Although those barriers exist as a consequence of this storm, we are nevertheless working with partners to figure out how best to restore the rate of vaccinations that preceded it.