Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support a ceasefire in Gaza.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to support international justice and accountability mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court investigation into the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in respect of any instances of alleged atrocities during the current conflict in Gaza.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what long-term plans they have to address the root causes of conflict in the Middle East in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote the principles of international humanitarian law in the conduct of hostilities in Israel and Gaza.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning the restoration of Gaza’s electricity supply and other recently imposed restrictions on Gaza by Israel.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to monitor Israel's compliance with obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that the development of a malaria vaccine by the Oxford-based Jenner Institute will have on saving lives around the world.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK welcomed the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation on 2 October 2023 of the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine for the prevention of malaria in children. We supported the decision by the Gavi board in December 2021 to launch a malaria vaccine programme, including with support through the UK's contribution to Gavi, and look forward to Gavi supporting the future rollout of R21 once Pre-Qualified by WHO. The UK's £1.65 billion funding from 2021 to 2025 to Gavi will immunise 75 million children and save up to 2 million lives from vaccine preventable diseases, including malaria. Our £1 billion pledge to the 7th replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will help to distribute 86 million mosquito nets and provide malaria treatment and care for 18 million people. UK support to Unitaid will help countries to optimise the introduction of new malaria prevention tools and help to ensure that malaria medicines and tools are affordable and accessible for all.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, following the recent recommendation by the World Health Organization on the R21 malaria vaccine, they intend to provide sufficient funding to (1) Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, (2) the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and (3) Unitaid, over their next funding cycles to ensure that vaccines and other life-saving tools can be delivered at scale.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK welcomed the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation on 2 October 2023 of the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine for the prevention of malaria in children. We supported the decision by the Gavi board in December 2021 to launch a malaria vaccine programme, including with support through the UK's contribution to Gavi, and look forward to Gavi supporting the future rollout of R21 once Pre-Qualified by WHO. The UK's £1.65 billion funding from 2021 to 2025 to Gavi will immunise 75 million children and save up to 2 million lives from vaccine preventable diseases, including malaria. Our £1 billion pledge to the 7th replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will help to distribute 86 million mosquito nets and provide malaria treatment and care for 18 million people. UK support to Unitaid will help countries to optimise the introduction of new malaria prevention tools and help to ensure that malaria medicines and tools are affordable and accessible for all.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the World Health Organization's World Malaria Day on 25 April, what assessment they have made of the UK’s malaria science sector.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK is a world leader in the life sciences, and British science is at the cutting edge of fighting malaria. We will continue to play a world-leading role in research and innovations to combat this disease. This includes support to the Liverpool-based Innovative Vector Control Consortium to develop novel bed-nets and to Oxford University to develop a new generation of antimalarial medicines to address the threat posed by emerging drug resistance. We have also funded research to evaluate the role of malaria vaccines when deployed in combination with seasonal administration of antimalarials, led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to contribute to eradicating malaria within the foreseeable future.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK is a global leader in supporting work towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3.3 to end the epidemic of malaria by 2030. The UK recently pledged £1 billion for the seventh replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria which accounts for 63 per cent of all international funding for malaria programmes. We also continue to play a leading role in research and development, including supporting the Innovative Vector Control Consortium to develop novel bed-nets and Oxford University to develop a new generation of antimalarial medicines to address the threat from emerging drug resistance.