Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the outcome of the EU referendum and the consequent renegotiation of international trade deals, whether her Department plans to continue to support other countries' use of TRIPS flexibilities to ensure access to affordable quality medicine; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
As part of our work to widen access to quality, affordable medicines in developing countries we encourage active dialogue between industry and governments to explore how they can best work together to facilitate access, and will continue to do so. This includes the use of licensing models that are compliant with the World Trade Organisation’s TRIPS agreement on intellectual property rights, and supporting developing countries to utilise TRIPS flexibilities, particularly in the case of national health emergencies. This is in line with the Doha Declaration on Public Health, which we fully support.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which agreed EU directives have not yet been transposed directly into UK law; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force. During this period the Government will continue to negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recommendations in the UN High Level Panel on Access to Medicines report, published in September 2016, on stimulating research and development in underfunded areas and improving access to medicines; whether she has plans to take those recommendations forward; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
The UK government is committed to ensuring access to low cost, effective medicines in the developing world. We support the provision of essential medicines and other health products through global partnerships such as the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), UNITAID, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP). We place a great emphasis on research and development of new vaccines, medicines and diagnostics for conditions that affect millions of poor people. For example, the UK is a leading investor in public-private Product Development Partnerships (PDPs), an innovative financing mechanism to stimulate research and development (R&D) where market incentives are insufficient.
We support the aims of the UN High Level Panel on Access to Medicines and welcome efforts to shed light on this important issue. However, we note that this panel of experts could not reach agreement on the best approach, given the evidence presented. Our view is that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has already undertaken a large amount of work to consider the full range of barriers that limit access to medicines, and is well placed to consider which recommendations add the most value.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many of her Department's country offices have direct bilateral expenditure that is coded under HIV prevention, treatment and care; and what the value of that expenditure is.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
DFID’s expenditure on HIV and AIDS is now overwhelmingly directed through our multilateral support: our £1.1billion investment in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for the period 2017-19 and our work with UNITAID and UNAIDS.
Strategic investments in DFID country programmes support this. Direct bilateral budget expenditure specifically coded under HIV prevention, treatment and care amounts to £18.3million for 2016/17 according to the UK AID Development Tracker; which can be found on our website at https://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/sector/2/categories/130/projects/13040.
This supports regional programmes and projects in 8 DFID countries. This coding itself captures only part of our bilateral work: a range of investments not coded under HIV will also support the AIDS response, especially in the highest prevalence countries.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she plans to support the International Trade Centre's She Trades initiative; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
DFID is a strong supporter of women’s economic empowerment. The Secretary of State is on the UN High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment, which will accelerate global action on this agenda. The SheTrades Initiative is a consequence of DFID’s funding for the International Trade Centre’s women and trade programme, which helps women entrepreneurs from developing countries to trade and access markets. To date this programme has directly supported 2,600 women entrepreneurs, and indirectly contributed to 12,000 women benefiting from market access opportunities.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the finding of the Syria Relief Network's survey of refugees that only a third of Syrian child refugees currently attend school; what assistance her Department is providing to ensure that more Syrian child refugees receive an education; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The UK, alongside UNICEF, has led the No Lost Generation Initiative (NLGI), which supports education for children in Syria and the region. We have allocated £122 million to NLGI since the start of the crisis, providing formal and non-formal education for hundreds of thousands of children in the region. We have improved early grade education, provided non-formal education and counselling in Jordan, and boosted formal, non-formal and catch-up education for underserved children in Lebanon. Our programmes provided catch-up classes in essential subjects for more than 160,000 inside Syria, and textbooks for more than 350,000 in Lebanon.
In February we hosted the Supporting Syria and the Region conference in London, where participants agreed that all 1.7 million refugee and vulnerable children in countries neighbouring Syria will be in quality education by the end of 2016/2017 school year. DFID committed to increase funding on education in Jordan and Lebanon to £240 million up to 2020/2021 and is currently designing new programmes, aligned behind national education plans, to help deliver these ambitious goals.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much the Government has contributed to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' appeal for the Burundi humanitarian response in 2016; what steps she is taking to encourage international partners to contribute to that fund; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The UK is very concerned about the ongoing political and human rights crisis in Burundi, and the flow of refugees to neighbouring countries. DFID has contributed £21.15 million in Tanzania and Rwanda towards the UNHCR regional refugee response plan since April 2015 to support shelter, food, healthcare and livelihoods assistance for Burundian refugees. The 2016 Burundi Regional Refugee Response Plan was published in January and appeals for $313.8 million to support 330,000 refugees in Tanzania, Rwanda, DRC and Uganda. DFID is currently reviewing the 2016 allocation to this appeal and intends to release further funds in coming months. DFID is also supporting refugees in the DRC and Uganda through existing programmes and the provision of technical advice. DFID has deployed a humanitarian adviser to the region in support of the response and to monitor funding provided so far.
DFID officials across the region are working closely with national and international counterparts – including UNHCR, the EU, World Bank, NGOs and other donors – to ensure that humanitarian needs in Burundi and the region are met. We are encouraging developmental donors in Burundi to re-programme funds quickly to maintain the basic functions of the state – such as health centres – and working with the international financial institutions (IFIs) to respond to the growing needs and develop programmes that support the resilience of existing systems.
The Humanitarian Response Plan for Burundi was published in March 2016 and appeals for $62.3 million to support 1.1 million people. DFID is currently reviewing a potential contribution to the appeal, and is undertaking contingency planning should the situation deteriorate.
DFID continues to monitor the situation closely with the FCO, and liaises regularly with interested and influential parties such as the Archbishop of Canterbury, in order to pressure the international community to act and focus attention on the crisis.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department is providing to those Burundians who have fled the country due to recent violence; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The UK Government is extremely concerned by the ongoing political unrest in Burundi, and its humanitarian consequences, including the flow of Burundian refugees to neighbouring countries.
The UK is the second largest bilateral donor to the regional appeal, after the US. DFID is providing £14.25 million to support the relief efforts for refugees fleeing to Tanzania, the majority of which will be channelled through UN agencies (UNHCR and WFP). DFID is providing a further £3.9 million for the refugee response in Rwanda through both the UN and NGOs. This funding will be used by UN agencies and international NGOs to provide life-saving basic services to vulnerable populations, including full food rations.
Additionally, DFID’s preparedness programme (started in 2014) has enabled UNICEF and WFP to prepare to assist up to 10,000 people in Burundi and to stockpile high energy biscuits for 45,000 people in Rwanda. The programme also helped UNOCHA strengthen humanitarian coordination in Burundi. DFID has provided technical support, in the form of secondment of experts, to support UN agencies working in Burundi.
The START network (a consortium of international NGOs), which is supported by DFID, has released £442,327 in Burundi, £275,281 in Rwanda, £430,203 in Tanzania, and £330,000 in the DRC in support of the humanitarian response.
The UK Government supports the process of opening consultations with the Government of Burundi, as provided for by Article 96 of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, to encourage the Burundian Government to make the right choices for the citizens of Burundi and bring stability to Burundi.
DFID will continue to monitor the situation closely with the FCO, and may consider additional funding, including within Burundi.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to encourage investment in infrastructure in the north and east of Sri Lanka; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
DFID does not have a bilateral programme with Sri Lanka. However, the UK continues to provide assistance through a share of its contributions to multilaterals working in Sri Lanka, such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Inclusive growth is a major thrust of the ADB’s Sri Lanka strategy, with projects that support investment in infrastructure in the north and east of the country, as well as elsewhere.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Ross Fund will include funding to tackle HIV/AIDS; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Hurd
Whilst the Ross Fund is not directly focused on HIV and AIDS, the UK continues to invest in research on HIV and AIDS. This includes research into understanding the structural drivers that can increase HIV (including gender inequality, stigma and limited livelihood opportunities), HIV prevention technologies (such as microbicides and vaccines) and studies to identify cost-effective ways to deliver HIV services.
The Ross Fund will target infectious diseases including malaria, diseases with epidemic potential, neglected tropical diseases which affect over a billion people globally, and antimicrobial resistance which poses a substantial and growing threat to global health. The goal of the Ross fund is to develop, test and deliver a range of new products (including vaccines, drugs and diagnostics) to help combat these diseases in developing countries.