Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department is providing to victims' organisations and other civil society groups working on transitional justice issues in the Gambia.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK regularly discusses the transitional justice process with the Government of The Gambia. A DFID programme, delivered by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, we are working to transform the National Assembly of The Gambia into a robust institution. This includes a particular focus on increasing government accountability and enhancing political inclusion among marginalised groups. The UK has also provided funding through the International Centre for Transitional Justice for an outreach programme to raise awareness and promote engagement and inclusion in The Gambia.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to help people with leprosy and other tropical diseases.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK’s global health work supports countries to build and maintain strong health systems and promote universal health coverage, to enable partner countries to tackle all the causes of ill health, including tropical diseases.
UK aid is invested in several major neglected tropical disease (NTD) programmes, which are focused on building systems to treat and prevent Guinea worm, schistosomiasis, onchocerciasis, visceral leishmaniasis, lymphatic filariasis, and trachoma. These diseases were identified based on a detailed analysis of the burden of the disease, the UK’s comparative advantage in the area, and the availability and cost effectiveness of treatment and prevention. Although leprosy is not a focus disease, activities relating to leprosy can be included if these can be delivered effectively in conjunction with activities relating to the focus diseases. We work closely with national governments to plan programme activities.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will identify NGOs that are running effective reconciliation programmes between farmers and herders in Nigeria and allocate funding to them to support the capacity building of their programmes.
Answered by James Duddridge
We are deeply concerned by the ?inter-communal violence in Nigeria and the devastating impact that this has had on affected communities, including heavy loss of life. We continue to call for a solution that meets the needs of all the communities affected. DFID is designing a programme to address natural resource conflicts between farmers and herders, which may include support to non-governmental organisations. We value the important role NGOs play in supporting affected communities in Nigeria, and we will continue to work alongside them where possible.
Staff from the British High Commission in Abuja are actively engaged on the ground. The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, along with staff, visited Plateau State in December 2019 to further discuss the situation with the Governor, as well as Christian and Muslim faith leaders. They also met NGOs working on reconciliation to discuss the situation and the efforts they are taking to address it.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to (a) support biodiversity and (b) help prevent the extinction of endangered species.
Answered by James Duddridge
Tackling climate change and biodiversity loss remain high priorities for this Government. It is critical to poverty reduction, protecting the planet for future generations and achieving the sustainable development goals.
DFID has a number of programmes that support biodiversity and help prevent the extinction of endangered species, for example in our significant support for sustainable forestry and land use. The UK is also a strong supporter of the Global Environment Facility. At UNCAS last September, the PM announced a new £220 million International Biodiversity Fund, which includes the £100 million Biodiverse Landscapes Fund under design, as well as an uplift of £90 million to the Darwin Initiative and £30 million to the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund.
The UK’s objective for CBD COP 15 is to agree a framework that spurs action and the transformative changes needed for halting and reversing global biodiversity loss. We will support ambitious and practical targets, strengthened by coherent implementation mechanisms that are consummate with the scale of the challenge. The UK is also a Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which implements strict controls to ensure that international trade in listed species is sustainable, legal and traceable.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the potential merits on increasing the level of support provided to (a) the World Health Organization and (b) other international organisations to help limit the spread of covid-19.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Department for International Development (DFID) is supporting the UK’s global efforts to combat the outbreak of COVID-19 and help the most vulnerable. UK aid will?reduce the risk of?the spread of the disease by supporting developing countries most at risk of coronavirus to quickly identify cases and care for patients.?This?support demonstrates how UK aid is making the world a safer place?by?tackling diseases that do not respect borders.
The UK has committed up to £241 million of aid to support the global efforts to combat the outbreak of COVID-19. In addition to the UK’s significant annual funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) of around £120 million, the UK has committed an additional £10 million to the WHO’s Emergency Flash Appeal and additional funding for other international partners who are helping developing countries develop and deliver their own response to the virus. This includes funding for research and development of vaccines, diagnostics and treatments, medical and humanitarian expertise and supplies and a package of support to help developing countries respond to the economic impacts of the virus.
By reducing the global impact of the virus and preventing its spread, this support is firmly in the UK national interest, protecting both the UK public and the stability of the UK economy.
UK aid has a longstanding record of supporting countries across the globe to prepare for large disease outbreaks. We are working closely with our international partners, including the WHO, to support vulnerable countries ensuring they are better prepared. We are keeping further international funding under regular review.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Official Development Assistance his Department has allocated to (a) Commonwealth and (b) non-Commonwealth countries in each of the last five years.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The table below sets out how much UK bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) was received by Commonwealth and Non-Commonwealth countries between 2014 and 2018.
UK Bilateral ODA to Commonwealth and Non-Commonwealth countries: 2014 to 2018
£ millions
ODA Recipient | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
Commonwealth Countries | 2,005 | 2,121 | 2,001 | 1,961 | 1,748 |
Non-Commonwealth Countries | 2,024 | 2,501 | 2,839 | 2,922 | 2,765 |
Regional/Developing Countries, unspecified | 2,793 | 3,040 | 3,695 | 3,920 | 4,750 |
Total UK Bilateral ODA | 6,822 | 7,662 | 8,534 | 8,803 | 9,263 |
Note: These figures are based on the Commonwealth Countries that are currently members in March 2020
Source: Statistics on International Development: Final UK Aid Spend 2018
Bilateral ODA is spending where the UK has specified what the ODA is spent on and in which country or countries. In 2018, Bilateral ODA accounted for 64% of total UK ODA. The remaining proportion of ODA (36%) is delivered in the form of core contributions to ODA-eligible Multilaterals. These contributions are spent by Multilaterals on projects that benefit developing countries across the world, including in many Commonwealth countries. In 2018, the UK provided £5.3 billion in core contributions to Multilaterals.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Official Development Assistance his Department has allocated to programmes tackling Dengue Fever in 2018-19.
Answered by Wendy Morton
There is no international sector code for spend on dengue fever, but data on UK aid expenditure is published each year and can be accessed from the link
DFID's health focus is to improve the provision of basic health services for the poorest by supporting health systems strengthening, health worker capacity and access to essential medicines and equipment. Increasing coverage, access and quality will strengthen health services to address all health problems including communicable diseases.
DFID also provides funding to TDR, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases. TDR helps support and influence efforts to combat dengue and other Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what his Department's total spend on combatting Dengue Fever was in 2018-19.
Answered by Wendy Morton
There is no international sector code for spend on dengue fever, but data on UK aid expenditure is published each year and can be accessed from the link
DFID's health focus is to improve the provision of basic health services for the poorest by supporting health systems strengthening, health worker capacity and access to essential medicines and equipment. Increasing coverage, access and quality will strengthen health services to address all health problems including communicable diseases.
DFID also provides funding to TDR, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases. TDR helps support and influence efforts to combat dengue and other Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Official Development Assistance her Department allocated to tackling tuberculosis in 2018-19.
Answered by Wendy Morton
DFID invests in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria as the principal mechanism to combat TB. The UK is currently the second largest investor in the Global Fund, pledging £1.4 billion to the 6th Replenishment (2020 – 2022) and £1.2 billion for the 5th Replenishment (2017-2019).
As our investment in the Global Fund has increased our bilateral programmes have decreased. Bilateral spending on TB control in 2018, which we publish by calendar year, was £1,862,966.
We also fund research on TB, including to develop more effective diagnostics and treatment, programmes to support countries to strengthen their health systems. Additionally, we significantly invest into health multilaterals such as the World Health Organisation and Unitaid, which provide technical leadership on tackling TB and strengthening health systems, support the introduction of new drugs for drug-resistant TB and the development of paediatric TB medicines for children in some of the world’s poorest countries.
Data on UK aid expenditure is published each year and can be accessed from the link below:
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Official Development Assistance her Department allocated to programmes tackling Polio in 2018-19.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK is a long standing supporter of efforts to eradicate polio, providing consistent support to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) since 1995. We are the second largest state donor to this programme and have provided a total of £1.3 billion to date. In September 2019 Ministers also approved a new £400 million investment for the 2020 – 2023 period, bringing our total investment to £1.7 billion.
Transmission of wild poliovirus is now only present in two countries compared to 124 when GPEI was formed in 1988, and cases of paralysis have reduced in that time from 350,000 a year to 175 last year.
In the 2018-2019 period, the UK provided a total of £50 million to programmes to specifically tackle polio; £4 million to Gavi the Vaccine Alliance for the purchase of polio vaccines, and £46 million to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which contributed to the vaccination of over 400 million children.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is a public-private partnership with six core partners, including the World Health Organisation and Rotary International. The UK works closely with these partners to eradicate polio from these last few parts of the world.