Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to help people around the world who are dependent on humanitarian assistance for food, particularly in relation to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The UK is at the forefront of supporting those in need of humanitarian assistance and we are actively working with international partners to better track, monitor and respond to the impact of COVID-19 on food security.
To date, the UK has committed £744 million to the global response. We are a key contributor to the UN Global Humanitarian Response Plan, which is helping the most vulnerable access the support they need. We have provided considerable support to the World Food Programme to secure the continuity of supply chains for essential commodities and services, and to pre-position food supplies.
Through existing programmes, we also continue to work with partners to tackle acute food insecurity and malnutrition and provide food to millions of people. We are supporting the UN Food and Agriculture Office to tackle the current locust plague, including providing livestock feed and planting material for farmers already facing economic uncertainty due to COVID-19. We are also repurposing programmes to address the impact of COVID-19 on food security including to monitor food prices and stocks.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that religious minorities in countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic have equal access to humanitarian assistance.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government works to ensure that all aid reaches the most vulnerable including those from religious minorities. Vulnerable populations will experience COVID-19 outbreaks differently. COVID-19 is likely to reinforce their marginalised position in society, their experience of discrimination, violence and stigma, and further limit their access to essential support and services. For this reason, guidance was circulated across DFID highlighting that inclusion must be central to our response and the specific contexts and needs of all religious minorities should be taken into account when developing practical programmes to tackle COVID-19.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to limit the vulnerability of refugees around the world to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
One of the main risks to ending the COVID-19 pandemic is the weakness of developing countries’ healthcare systems. Those countries already struggling with humanitarian crises will be particularly stretched. Refugees are amongst the most vulnerable. They often live in close quarters without access to proper healthcare or shelter, many in crowded and unsanitary camps where social distancing and regular handwashing are almost impossible.
The UK has long been supportive of initiatives to build resilience amongst refugees and their host communities, including in health and disease control. We have done this through programmes that are providing access to public health information, clean water, sanitation and health services. We are also working closely with all our international partners to coordinate a global response that includes actions to address the vulnerability of refugee populations.
We have committed £744 million to date in the fight against COVID-19. Our most recent funding includes new support to the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) and to UNICEF to help install new hand-washing stations and isolation and treatment centres in refugee camps as well as provide protection services and education opportunities for forcibly displaced children.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to help minimise the risk posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to those currently living in refugee camps in Syria.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK recognises that individuals in refugee camps are more vulnerable to COVID-19. In Syria the UK is one of the leading donors supporting international efforts to deliver vital healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene activities; all of which help to mitigate the threat posed by COVID-19.
DFID’s current support in Syria includes training for health workers; educational material to raise awareness on health and sanitation; provision of infection, prevention, and control supplies; and cash assistance for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). The UK is monitoring the situation closely and working with humanitarian partners inside Syria to respond to the outbreak and to sustain life-saving services.
DFID has pledged £200 million of humanitarian aid to support the UK’s global efforts to combat the outbreak, this includes support for IDPs and those in refugee camps. £65 million of this contribution is for the World Health Organisation to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Our most recent funding also includes new support to the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) and to UNICEF to help install new hand-washing stations and isolation and treatment centres in refugee camps, as well as provide protection services and education opportunities for forcibly displaced children.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are providing, if any, to the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK is not providing support to the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. The UK continually monitors the humanitarian situation in Gaza and we are aware of the significant strain on the health sector. We have recently announced that we will be providing £2 million to the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) Appeal to contribute to the delivery of urgently needed surgical equipment, medicines, wound dressing kits, prosthetic limbs and post-surgery physiotherapy. It will also provide physical rehabilitation services for up to 3,000 disabled people. The UK’s commitment to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) currently provides vital health services for around 3 million Palestinian refugees and provides over 800,000 Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and East Jerusalem access to basic healthcare. The UK remains deeply engaged on the challenges facing Gaza’s health sector and we will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what contribution they intend to make, if any, to the reconstruction of a post-war Syria.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK is clear that it will only consider funding for reconstruction within Syria once a credible, genuine and inclusive political process is firmly underway. To do otherwise would only exacerbate the grievances that led to the conflict in the first place. We are making every effort to achieve a political settlement that ends the suffering and provides stability for all Syrians and the wider region.
While the conflict is ongoing, we are focused on providing vital humanitarian support for millions of people across Syria. We remain one of the largest bilateral donors to the humanitarian response, having committed £2.81 billion to the Syria Crisis to date.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the progress of (1) material, and (2) social, reconstruction in Iraq.
Answered by Lord Bates
The fight against Daesh led to widespread damage to infrastructure, housing and communities across Iraq. The World Bank has estimated the cost of material reconstruction to be at least £67 billion. An unquantifiable but equally serious social cost has simultaneously been exacted on Iraqi society.
The UN has spearheaded stabilisation efforts with its Funding Facility for Stabilisation (FFS), which helps stabilise areas liberated from Daesh by repairing infrastructure and vital facilities such as hospitals and schools. To date, almost 1400 projects have been completed by the FFS. The FFS has been the largest recipient of the UK’s own stabilisation funding in Iraq.
There are also numerous examples of International Community-led activities focused on social cohesion and reconciliation. The FFS works to build cohesion amongst communities as the displaced return to their homes. Alongside this, the UK has spent £2.68 million targeting community safety and reintegration projects in Salah-al-Din and Nineveh.
The UK and International Community will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Iraq as it rebuilds post-Daesh. However, as the immediate crisis recedes, only the Government of Iraq has the mandate, tools and capacity to take the primary role in driving systematic, long-term reconstruction across the country.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what humanitarian assistance they are providing to help alleviate the emerging humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State in Burma.
Answered by Lord Bates
Since 2012, the UK has provided over £30 million in humanitarian assistance in Rakhine state, including food and sanitation for over 126,000 people. Our partners are delivering humanitarian assistance to more than 80,000 people in the non-conflict zones of Rakhine State. We continue to strongly urge the Burmese authorities to allow the access of aid, food and medication to all affected communities in Rakhine and we are working closely with them to support this. In northern Rakhine DFID partners are ready to provide emergency food assistance to 30,000 people and to treat more than 3,000 severely malnourished children and pregnant women once access is granted. DFID has also committed £10.9 million to meet the needs of displaced Rohingya and the host communities who support them in Bangladesh.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 20 February (HL5245), which faith-based organisations in Iraq have applied for access to UK funding through the UN-managed Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund.
Answered by Lord Bates
Organisations can apply for funding from the Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund (IHPF) after completing an assessment to make sure that they have the capacity to deliver high quality humanitarian assistance. A list of all the organisations which have completed the Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund capacity assessment is available on the UN OCHA Iraq website. A list of all organisations, including faith-based organisations, that received funding from the Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund is published on the cbpf.unocha.org website. OCHA do not publish information about organisations which applied for funding but were unsuccessful.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 20 February (HL5245), what steps they are taking to encourage faith-based organisations in Iraq to access UK funding through the UN-managed Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund.
Answered by Lord Bates
UK officials in Iraq regularly meet with humanitarian organisations and direct them towards the Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund (IHPF) to access funding. DFID does not differentiate in its approach between faith-based organisations and secular organisations, and supports the approach of the IHPF to provide funding to those best placed to provide assistance to those most in need. DFID officials in London meet quarterly with a working group of non-governmental organisation representatives to discuss Iraq, including many from faith-based organisations. The discussions regularly cover any concerns or questions that organisations have about access to IHPF funding.