Official Development Assistance

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

That is an incredibly important area to focus on. We have spent £60 million this year on the UNFPA and an additional £8 million on humanitarian family planning products because, as my noble friend says, this is such a vital issue. It can make such a difference to women and girls and to whole communities in places that really need the support.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, the US and the UK were major supporters of UNFPA, the UN Population Fund. The devastating cuts to USAID, coupled with the right-wing push-back on gender equality and family planning, leave the poorest women and girls in a desperate situation globally. Following on from the previous two questions, how will the UK prioritise helping them, given that we certainly will not reach the SDGs if we do not do that?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I talked about money in my previous answers, but our commitment to be advocates and continue to push for a change in country on the rights of women and girls is often as important. Maintaining access to safe abortion and family planning advice and products is a key commitment from the Government that builds on the work of very many of my predecessors. This is absolutely vital and is one of the reasons that we have decided to prioritise health as we go forward.