Oral Answers to Questions

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

3. What steps her Department is taking to support vulnerable children in Rohingya refugee camps during the monsoon season.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

9. What steps her Department is taking to protect Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh from the effects of the monsoon season.

[Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Brighton, Kemptown) (Lab/Co-op)]

13. What steps her Department is taking to protect Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh from the effects of the monsoon season.

--- Later in debate ---

[Alistair Burt]

The hon. Lady is right to raise this issue. Some 16,000 women may be caught up in this. We have deployed a specialist maternity worker to be there. In addition, we are working with our partners to support Rohingya women who were raped and are pregnant. The deployment includes training of medical specialists, psycho-social support, clinical management of rape and emergency obstetric care. This is all being provided despite the difficulty of the monsoons and other circumstances.

[Afzal Khan]

Given the greatly increased risk of waterborne diseases facing the Rohingya during the monsoon season, what steps is the Department taking to make sure that as many people as possible are vaccinated?

[Alistair Burt]

There are two issues here: first, work needs to continue to ensure that latrines and waters are as safe as possible, and secondly, an extensive vaccination campaign is already being undertaken. The United Kingdom is a major contributor to the vaccination programme.