Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the cost in cash terms of the UK maintaining Official Development Assistance at 0.7 per cent of gross national income in financial year 2016-17.
Answered by Justine Greening
Based on the Office for Budgetary Responsibility’s (OBR) Autumn Statement GNI forecasts, the UK is projected to spend £13.6bn on Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2016 in order to meet the 0.7 per cent of gross national income commitment.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of donations to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations she expects the UK's share to be at the end of the 2016 to 2020 funding period.
Answered by Nick Hurd
Based on pledges made at Gavi’s replenishment conference in January 2015, the UK share of the total budget for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, from 2016 to 2020 will be 26%. However, I expect that this level may vary according to other donor pledges.
Since 2000, Gavi has vaccinated half a billion children and saved 7 million lives. The UK pledge of £1 billion for the 2016 to 2020 period, by itself, is likely to vaccinate an additional 76 million children and save 1.4 million lives.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will raise with the UN the need for all member states to endorse the international campaign against female genital mutilation.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The UK has taken the lead internationally in supporting the African-led movement to end female genital mutilation. We lead by example, as the largest donor ever, investing £35m over 5 years in a programme in 17 countries. Last year we successfully worked with others to push for the inclusion of an indicator on female genital mutilation in the Global Goals that applies not only to some, but to all countries. We co-sponsored the UN General Assembly resolutions on female genital mutilation in 2012 and 2014.
In 2014, the Prime Minister co-hosted Girl Summit with UNICEF, which galvanised unprecedented international support. Girl Summit secured 500 signatories to a charter and over 170 commitments from governments, civil society and individuals. Increased funding was committed to the UN Joint Programmes on female genital mutilation and child, early and forced marriage. We continue to urge others to do more.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much UK aid will be spent on the Global Polio Eradication Initiative by 2020.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The UK is fully committed to polio eradication and is the third largest donor to global polio eradication. By 2019, the UK will have invested more than £900 million on the Global Polio Eradication Initiative since its creation in 1988. Of this £900 million, £85 million is still to be disbursed by 2019.
Polio eradication is poised to be one of the greatest public health success stories of all time and UK support has been critical in bringing us one step closer to the finish line, something people across the country can be immensely proud of.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much and what proportion the UK contributed to the EU humanitarian and development budget in each of the last two years.
Answered by Nick Hurd
UK contributions to EU Official Development Assistance (ODA), including development assistance and humanitarian aid, for the last two years was as follows:
2013 £ million | 2014 £ million |
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British share of overall EU spend is approximately 15%. The UK continues to work hard to ensure EU development aid focuses on the poorest and most fragile countries and that the EU becomes more open and transparent about the challenges it faces in implementing aid projects.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress has been made to further develop clean water programmes in sub-Saharan Africa in the last 12 months.
Answered by Nick Hurd
In 2014/15, DFID provided access to clean water for 5.8 million people including 2.6 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. These were some of the almost 63 million people in Africa and Asia that DFID supported to gain access to water and sanitation between 2011 and 2015. We are currently formulating our new portfolio to deliver on the UK government’s commitment to help a further 60 million people get access to clean water and sanitation by 2020. We expect sub-Saharan African countries to feature significantly including continuation of programmes in Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Two programmes designed to meet our previous commitments, a programme with UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) and the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Results Programme, will continue to deliver results until early 2016, including in Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Niger, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what information her Department holds on the average life expectancy for girls aged 15 in sub-Saharan Africa between 2005 and 2015.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The UN Population Division estimates that total average life expectancy for fifteen year old girls in Sub-Saharan Africa was 63.53 years between 2005 and 2010 and 66.12 years between 2010 and 2015.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance the Government is providing to countries in West Africa to reduce the chances of Ebola returning to areas from which it has been eradicated.
Answered by Nick Hurd
We are working closely with the Government of Sierra Leone, the World Health Organisation and other partners to reduce the risk of future outbreaks and prevent them from growing into epidemics.
The UK has announced a two-year £240 million package of support to Sierra Leone’s long term recovery, which includes boosting capability to respond to future Ebola outbreaks and other emergencies. A key part of this joint strategy with the Government of Sierra Leone is the strengthening of health systems. Another component will boost capacity at district levels, empower youth and communities and support women and girls.. DFID will also support Liberia’s Health Pooled fund with £6 million to help ensure that its health system is resilient to future shocks.
Beyond Sierra Leone and Liberia, DFID’s Regional Preparedness Programme prevents the transmission and spread of Ebola in at-risk countries in West Africa, focusing on prevention of a fourth country outbreakand strengthening national capacities to contain disease outbreaks.
At the global level, the UK is supporting urgent reform of the World Health Organisation to ensure that it will respond effectively to future health emergencies and is also supporting their new Contingency Fund for Emergencies. At the Spending Review the Government announced the new Ross Fund to support the global fight against infectious diseases including Malaria and Ebola, which will be jointly administered with the Department of Health.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what changes she has instituted to the Government's overseas aid programme to tackle the Syrian refugee crisis in 2015.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
To date, the UK has pledged over £1.1 billion in response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the region. This includes scaling up our support for longer term stability and resilience-building work inside Syria and in neighbouring countries, alongside our humanitarian aid to meet immediate needs.
On 23 September the Prime Minister announced that the UK will provide £14.5 million aid to countries that refugees and migrants are leaving and transiting through. The UK has offered in-kind assistance to Serbia and Slovenia, through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM).
Through the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme, the UK is helping some of the most vulnerable refugees who cannot be supported effectively in the region and whose needs can only be met in countries like the UK.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will hold discussions with the Arab League and other governments in the Middle East on the number of refugees each such country plans to resettle.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
UK Ministers and the Secretary of State for International Development frequently discuss Syrian refugees with Arab League members and other governments from the Middle East. These discussions include all aspects of the refugees including resettlement and raising the funding necessary to meet the needs of Syrians still in Syria and those seeking refuge in neighbouring countries.