Sustainable Development Goals

Debate between Baroness Sugg and Baroness Tonge

Thursday 12th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I agree with my noble friend that culture is an important export, of which the UK is very proud, and we will continue to support culture wherever we are able to.

[Baroness Tonge (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, the Minister said yesterday that girls’ education is the top priority for our overseas aid but girls cannot stay in education if they are married off early with no access to contraception because they then spend the rest of their lives having more and more babies. Surely strengthening the availability of family planning and sexual and reproductive health services must be the top priority for overseas aid to achieve the sustainable development goals, especially during the pandemic.

[Baroness Sugg (Con) [V]]

Girls’ education is indeed a key priority for the FCDO but so is continuing our support for sexual and reproductive health and rights. We are the world’s second-largest global bilateral donor on family planning. I agree with the noble Baroness that we must ensure that girls and women have access to family planning so that they can continue their education, contribute to the economy and decide how and when to have children and how many to have.

UK Aid: Nutrition-sensitive Programmes

Debate between Baroness Sugg and Baroness Tonge

Monday 13th January 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg]

My Lords, climate modelling shows that the additional deaths that will stem from climate change will be largely due to undernutrition, so it is absolutely right that we focus on this. There are two ways in which we need to do that: through both the quantity of food available—we are looking at investing in flood-tolerant rice and drought-tolerant maize, for example—and the quality, ensuring that healthier, nutritious diets are affordable and accessible. We are looking at nutrient-rich, biofortified staples such as vitamin A-enriched sweet potato or zinc-enriched maize. We will continue to ensure that we invest properly in new agricultural technologies so that the quality of the diet is available as well as the quantity.

[Baroness Tonge (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree with me that good nutrition is far easier to achieve in smaller than in larger families? Will she therefore renew the Government’s pledge to concentrate on delivering voluntary family planning to as many women in the world as possible? There are still 220 million women in the world who cannot access family planning.

[Baroness Sugg]

My Lords, malnutrition affects women and girls more seriously, and I will be delighted to reaffirm the commitment to ensuring that we are able to give women and girls across the world access to voluntary family planning when and how they need it.