Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what provision they, acting alongside the United Nations, and the governments of Norway and the United States of America, have made for health and education services in South Sudan in the event of the bankruptcy of the relevant government departments in that country; and what discussions they have had with the authorities in South Sudan on the use of oil revenues in this context.
Answered by Baroness Verma
The UK is playing a leading role in the humanitarian response to the current instability in South Sudan. Through the Common Humanitarian Fund, the UK is financing emergency health and education provision for internally displaced persons and returning refugees, together with UN, US and Norway. We continue to monitor the situation closely and alongside our humanitarian support, we are playing an active role in the ongoing peace negotiations.
In terms of our non-humanitarian health and education development programmes, these continue to operate in both the stable and conflict affected states of South Sudan. DFID is providing essential drugs, health worker salaries, and support for girls to complete secondary education as well as a range of other development programmes including skills training for out of school youth, and cash for public works and agricultural production.
Regular dialogue and provision of technical assistance by DFID and other partners has resulted in the South Sudan government providing operational transfers to counties and grants to primary schools and healthcare centres in their 2015/16 budget, largely financed through oil revenues. Through an IMF Trust Fund, the UK, EU and Norway are helping the government to strengthen oil sector transparency, while UK supports South Sudan Customs Department to collect non-oil revenues.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to secure a medical pipeline in areas where the government of South Sudan is unable to provide basic drugs for health clinics.
Answered by Baroness Verma
DFID has provided £11.5 million to the jointly funded (US, Norway and UK) Emergency Medicines Fund for drug distribution in the three conflict states of South Sudan. In addition, critical gaps in the other seven states are being covered through the £120m DFID-managed Health Pooled Fund supported by US and World Health Organisation.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the food security situation in South Sudan; and to what extent the United Kingdom will respond bilaterally as well as through the specialised UN agencies.
Answered by Baroness Verma
The most recent South Sudan Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report dated 27 May 2015 shows an increase in the number of people facing severe food insecurity. 4.6m people / 40% of the population are estimated to be unable to meet their basic food needs. The UK is the second largest bilateral donor to the humanitarian response in South Sudan, contributing £172m since the start of the crisis, along with an additional £88.9m to the regional response for South Sudanese refugees. This support is provided both bilaterally and to specialised UN agencies.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the Department for International Development budget in the last two financial years was allocated to (1) British non-governmental aid organisations, and (2) indigenous non-governmental aid organisations directly assisted in-country by the Department; and how much was similarly allocated by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence.
Answered by Baroness Verma
Information on all UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) is only available on a calendar year basis.
The percentage of total DFID and FCO Bilateral ODA disbursed through UK based non-governmental organisations (NGO’s) for 2012 and 2013, the last years for which figures are available.
Year | % Total DFID ODA | % Total FCO ODA |
2012 | 8% | 3% |
2013 | 10% | 3% |
The percentage of total DFID and FCO Bilateral ODA disbursed through developing-country based NGO’s for 2012 and 2013.
Year | % Total DFID ODA | % Total FCO ODA |
2012 | 2% | 2% |
2013 | 3% | 1% |
The Ministry of Defence did not disburse ODA to non-governmental organisations during 2012 or 2013.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the loss of food production this year owing to the conflict in South Sudan; and how they are assisting United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations to meet the food shortages in the affected areas.
Answered by Baroness Verma
Since December 2013 over 2 million people have been displaced by the conflict in South Sudan with the majority now residing in refugee camps and reliant on humanitarian aid. While it is too early for assessments for crop production in 2015, widespread disruption to agriculture is predicted to continue across the country and internally displaced people will continue to be reliant on aid, particularly during the dry season.
Under the Humanitarian Response Plan, the United Nations has appealed for USD 1.7 billion for 2015. The UK is one of the top three donors to this plan.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of how many newly displaced and malnourished people there are in South Sudan following the latest outbreak of fighting in Unity State.
Answered by Baroness Verma
The exact numbers of newly displaced and malnourished people following the May outbreak of fighting in Unity State have yet to be confirmed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Due to the ongoing fighting, humanitarian access has been extremely limited, preventing assessment of the humanitarian impact. We expect an update in mid-June, following the launch of the mid-year review of the 2015 United Nations Humanitarian Response Plan in Geneva on 16th June 2015.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of bilateral aid from the Department for International Development in the last three financial years has been channelled through non-governmental organisations (1) based in the United Kingdom, and (2) based in the recipient countries.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The table below shows the proportion of bilateral aid from the Department for International Development in the last three calendar years which has been channelled through non-governmental organisations (1) based in the United Kingdom, and (2) based in the recipient countries.
NGO Percentage of DFID Net Bilateral ODA | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
NGO Based in the United Kingdom | 8% | 9% | 10% |
NGO Based in Recipient Countries | 2% | 2% | 3% |
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which United Kingdom-based or indigenous aid agencies and non-governmental organisations working to reduce poverty in India currently receive funding from the Department for International Development; and which will continue to receive funding from the Department for International Development after its official programme closes.
Answered by Baroness Northover
DFID’s financial grant aid to India will cease in 2015, as we move towards a new UK-India development partnership. After 2015, our partnership will be based on sharing skills and expertise, investing in private sector projects that benefit the poor whilst generating a return, and working together on global development issues. While current funding to NGO’s will end as individual projects come to a close over 2015/ 16, individual future projects involving Technical Assistance may find that NGO’s are the most appropriate partner.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of South Sudan to ensure that the Voluntary and Non-Governmental Humanitarian Organizations Bill, currently before the South Sudan Parliament, will enable citizens and civil society organisations to engage in humanitarian activity, enjoy freedom of association and engage in monitoring and accountability systems in accordance with democratic principles.
Answered by Lord Wallace of Saltaire - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
The British Embassy in Juba has, alongside national and international partners, actively lobbied the Government of South Sudan on the Voluntary and Non-Governmental Humanitarian Organizations Bill currently before the South Sudan parliament. The United Kingdom wants to see proportionate and well-designed legislation that provides a clear legal framework within which citizens and civil society organisations can engage in humanitarian activity, enjoy freedom of association and engage in monitoring and accountability systems in accordance with democratic principles. We continue to make clear to the government where the draft legislation might better achieve these aims.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many displaced people they estimate to be in Darfur, Sudan; how many visits Department for International Development staff have paid to Darfur in the last two years; and which organisations they support there.
Answered by Baroness Northover
According to the latest update from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on 15 June 2014, the cumulative number of verified Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Darfur who have been displaced since January 2014 and have yet to return to their areas of origin is 264,528. This figure is in addition to the estimated number of over 2 million people who, at the end of 2013, have been living in longer term displacement. It is not possible to determine retroactively the number of visits that have occurred over the past two years but DFID staff do travel regularly to Darfur. To date in 2014, there have been a total of six separate visits with a total of eight DFID staff participating, including two by the Head of DFID Sudan.
DFID has provided support to a wide range of development and humanitarian organisations working in Darfur both directly and through different joint funds such as the Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) and the Darfur Community Peace and Stability Fund (DCPSF). Direct funds go to organisations including the following: the World Food Programme, Catholic Relief Services, World Vision Sudan, Oxfam America, Norwegian Church Aid Sudan and United Methodist Committee on Relief. Organisations getting funding through the joint funds include agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations, International Organisations, International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) and National Non-Governmental Organisations (NNGOs).