Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support, if any, is being provided by UK Aid Direct in partnership with the government of Bangladesh and non-governmental organisations, to Rohingya refugee women who are seeking abortion services as a result of being raped.
Answered by Lord Bates
Sexual and Reproductive Health Services are an essential part of the Rohingya humanitarian response, with more than 70,000 pregnant or nursing women among the new arrivals. Aid Direct funds are not being used, but our bilateral support will cover a full range of services of sexual and reproductive health services in line with good humanitarian practice. We will provide access to female bathing cubicles and sanitary items for more than 35,000 girls and women, counselling and psychological support for over 10,000 women suffering from the trauma of war and over 2,000 survivors of sexual violence; and medical help for over 50,000 pregnant women to give birth safely. We are providing the support described through a range of partners including United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UNICEF, Oxfam, Save the Children and ACF (Action against hunger), and we are supporting UNFPA to set up and run 13 sexual and reproductive health clinics.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of access to sexual and reproductive health services for Rohingya families in refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Answered by Lord Bates
Sexual and Reproductive Health Services are an essential part of the Rohingya humanitarian response, with more than 70,000 pregnant or nursing women among the new arrivals. Aid Direct funds are not being used, but our bilateral support will cover a full range of services of sexual and reproductive health services in line with good humanitarian practice. We will provide access to female bathing cubicles and sanitary items for more than 35,000 girls and women, counselling and psychological support for over 10,000 women suffering from the trauma of war and over 2,000 survivors of sexual violence; and medical help for over 50,000 pregnant women to give birth safely. We are providing the support described through a range of partners including United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UNICEF, Oxfam, Save the Children and ACF (Action against hunger), and we are supporting UNFPA to set up and run 13 sexual and reproductive health clinics.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what UK aid is being spent to support Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK is the largest bilateral donor to the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh. DFID has worked for many years in Cox’s Bazar and has stepped up efforts with an additional £30 million to support the latest influx of refugees. Our support will provide emergency food for 174,000 people, lifesaving nutritional support to more than 60,000 children under-five and over 21,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women, safe drinking water, emergency latrines and hygiene kits for more than 138,000 people, and emergency shelter for over 130,000 people.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that teachers, including refugee teachers, are paid appropriate wages and receive appropriate training and support in countries hosting Syrian refugees in the region.
Answered by Baroness Verma
The UK remains at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have doubled our commitment and have now pledged a total of over £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.
DFID is not currently financing public sector teachers’ salaries directly in Lebanon or Jordan. However, we helped launch and mobilise international support for the No Lost Generation Initiative. As part of this support, the UK has allocated £115 million to provide protection, psychosocial support and education for children affected by the crisis in Syria and the region. As a result over 251,000 children have received formal and informal education inside Syria and in the region. We are working to ensure that each host government considers where and when they can employ and fairly compensate Syrian teachers under their national legal and policy frameworks for both education and jobs.
In Lebanon, DFID is investing £21 million in the World Bank managed Emergency Education System Stabilisation Programme and an additional £1.3 million for the Research for Results: Lebanon Education System Improvement Programme. These programmes support the Government of Lebanon to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its education system including their public expenditure on teachers.
At the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference we co-hosted in London, leaders came together to pledge more than $11 billion, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. On education, the UK and co-hosts worked with donors and other partners to secure increased funding for education under the UN-led appeals for 2016 and longer term, multi-year education funding commitments to ensure sustainability. Commitments made at the Conference will help to create 1.1 million jobs and provide education to an additional 1 million children.
We continue to work with refugee hosting governments, in particular, to agree the policy commitments necessary to turn increased funding into delivery on the ground. This includes a regional policy dialogue on integrating refugee teachers into national education systems, where possible.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to encourage countries hosting Syrian refugees in the region to allow non-governmental organisations to provide non-formal education opportunities.
Answered by Baroness Verma
The UK remains at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have doubled our commitment and have now pledged a total of more than £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. The UK is funding Non-Formal Education via UNICEF in Jordan and Lebanon which is implemented by national non-governmental organisations.
We helped launch and mobilise international support for the No Lost Generation Initiative. The aim of Initiative is to improve quality formal and non-formal learning opportunities for children that are out of school. As part of this support, the UK has allocated £115 million to provide protection, psychosocial support and education for children affected by the crisis in Syria and the region. As a result over 251,000 children have received formal and informal education inside Syria and in the region.
At the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference in London on 4 February, leaders came together to pledge more than $11 billion, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. On education, leaders committed that by the end of the 2016/17 school year, 1.7 million children – all refugee children and vulnerable children in host communities – will be in quality education with equal access for girls and boys. This includes enrolment in either a formal school or a non-formal, informal or other alternative education programme that meets national or international standards.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to provide medical aid in Gaza, in particular to hospitals treating injured civilians.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The UK is the third largest donor to UNRWA, the main provider of health services in Gaza, and we have announced a further £6 million to their Flash Appeal for this crisis. We have activated a £3 million Rapid Response Facility on Saturday, under which ten charities have been awarded a portion of £3 million to help them meet urgent needs. This will mean that more than half a million people in Gaza will receive medical care, clean water and sanitation.
We have also brought forward £3 million in funding to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which will be used to help them repair water infrastructure damaged by airstrikes and deliver emergency medical services. And we support the UN Access Coordination Unit to work with the World Health Organisation, Israel, the Palestinian Authority and aid agencies to facilitate the transfer of medical equipment and supplies and patient referrals in and out of Gaza.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to provide financial resources and support through the Department for International Development's programmes in Bangladesh to support the victims and survivors of rapes committed during the 1971 war.
Answered by Baroness Northover
Her Majesty's Government strongly condemns the use of rape as a weapon of war. The Foreign Secretary's Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative aims to combat the use of rape as a weapon of war, to end the culture of impunity that exists for these crimes, to increase the number of perpetrators brought to account, and to provide support to survivors. We welcome Bangladesh's endorsement in May of the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict and their attendance at the Global Summit in June. The Declaration expresses a shared commitment and determination to see an end to the use of rape and sexual violence as weapons of war. As a result of the Summit, the Government of Bangladesh must focus on tackling impunity, increasing accountability, protecting its civilians, and helping survivors.