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, with reference to the UNICEF news note on children killed, abducted and raped in South Sudan attacks, dated 18 May 2015, if she will hold discussions with the government of South Sudan on the protection of children in that country from such attacks.
Answered by Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence
We have raised the issue of the protection of civilians, particularly children, both as part of our broader human rights engagement with the Government of South Sudan, as well as with the opposition, most recently on the 7th of July. Her Majesty’s Ambassador (HMA) to South Sudan, together with Heads of EU Missions in Juba, issued a statement on the 2nd July 2015 condemning the human rights atrocities in Unity State that were raised in the recent UNICEF and United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) reports. The joint statement strongly condemned the horrific acts against civilians, including children, and urged all parties involved to take steps to end these atrocities as a matter of urgency. We continue to call for the Government to allow further investigations by granting unimpeded access to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). We will continue to press the Government of South Sudan to ensure the protection of its citizens and investigate these atrocities.
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, with reference to the World Health Organisation press release dated 26 June 2015 on UN CERF funds, what assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Yemen.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The UK is deeply concerned about the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen. According to the United Nations, 21 million Yemenis (80% of the population) are now in need of humanitarian assistance. Of those, 6 million are facing severe food shortages; over 9 million have lost access to water; and 1.2 million have been displaced. 70% of health facilities have stopped operating and two thirds of the population are now deprived of health services. The UN has confirmed outbreaks of dengue fever and reported rising numbers of measles, rubella and polio cases due to disruptions to planned immunisation programmes and cold-chain vaccine storage because of severe fuel shortages.
The UK is the largest contributor globally to the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and welcomes the release of $25 million to assist those affected by the crisis in Yemen, and the announcement that $8 million has been committed to the WHO to provide life-saving medicines for non-communicable diseases. The UK has so far committed £55 million to the humanitarian response in Yemen for 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 information she holds on whether any aid offered from the UK is being used to assist people suffering in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana from extreme heat and drought.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
Although we continue to monitor the situation, UK aid is not currently being used to assist people in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana following extreme heat and drought conditions in these states. No request for assistance has been made by the Indian Government.
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 recent steps her Department has taken to support the development of clean drinking water systems in Africa.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The UK Government has promised to support 60 million people to gain access to sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in the developing world. We are on track to achieve this target through projects managed by our country offices in 15 countries, of which 12 are in Africa; a partnership with UNICEF to deliver programmes in nine countries, of which three are in Africa; and a challenge programme which funds three consortia working in 12 countries of which 10 are in Africa. The total number of people reached with WASH services in Africa since 2010 is 19.4 million and this is forecast to rise to 34.1 million by December 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, how many UK (a) military and (b) civilian personnel are currently in West Africa assisting with the Ebola epidemic; and what steps have been taken to ensure that those people are given the maximum possible protection against that virus.
Answered by Justine Greening
Over 800 Ministry of Defence personnel have been deployed to Western Africa. As of 12 December there are 58 NHS volunteers in Sierra Leone and over 125 UK civilian Government personnel based in Sierra Leone. The safety of all UK staff is paramount and to that end, all medical staff deploying to Sierra Leone receive specialist pre-deployment training as well as further training and mentoring in-country to ensure safety procedures are followed at all times.
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 steps she is taking to encourage the wider roll-out across Africa of recently trialled tests for Ebola used in Guinea.
Answered by Justine Greening
A rapid, point-of-care diagnostic test for the Ebola virus will be trialled in the coming weeks at the Ebola treatment centre in Conakry, Guinea. The trial is one of six health research projects that have been jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust and the UK government. If a point-of-care diagnostic test is shown to be ready for use in the response, it will be rolled out as quickly as possible across the region.
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 many medical professionals, normally based in the UK, have volunteered to assist in West African countries regarding the Ebola crisis in the last six months.
Answered by Justine Greening
Over 1,000 medical staff who are based in the UK have volunteered to assist in the response to Ebola in West Africa through UK-Med, who are coordinating volunteers from the NHS through their International Emergency Medical Register (UKIEMR), and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM).
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, whether her Department will monitor the forthcoming food voucher programme in Darfur to ensure it will be targeted at people in need and does not become a target of corruption.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The UK is a significant donor to the World Food Programme (WFP) voucher programme in Darfur. Over the last 12 months, Department for International Development (DFID) staff have visited voucher sites in all Darfur States where the programme is operating to monitor the programme. They met with WFP staff, partner agencies and beneficiaries. DFID is satisfied that the process of identifying and verifying programme beneficiaries based on biometric data, and conducted jointly by WFP and the International Organisation for Migration, ensures that the programme reaches intended beneficiaries. The planned roll out of electronic voucher cards with biometric data will further strengthen the process of ensuring beneficiaries receive what they are entitled to.
WFP conducts regular monitoring of a sample of beneficiaries immediately after vouchers have been distributed and again, approximately two weeks later, when they visit beneficiaries in their homes to assess how vouchers have been utilised. Monitoring is complemented by internal evaluations which allow WFP to assess the effectiveness of the programme in terms of value for money and the impact on food consumption and dietary diversity.
We will continue to closely monitor the programme through regular reports and field visits.
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 steps her Department has taken to assist displaced children under five.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
DFID recognises that displaced children are specifically vulnerable to the consequences of leaving their homes and communities and often their main carers. Working with partner humanitarian agencies DFID looks to ensure that the assistance and protection needs of children, especially the under -fives are addressed with urgency when a crisis occurs. As part of DFID’s regional response to the Syria crisis for example, DFID partners including UNICEF and specialist health NGOs are providing primary health services, including routine immunisation and malnutrition screening for under-5s. DFID is also funding child friendly spaces, which are accessible to accompanied under-5s, and services to unaccompanied and separated children. Under-5s also benefit from the provision of assistance to their caregivers, notably food, shelter, health, protection and psychosocial support.
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 her Department has offered Syrian Kurds in exile in Turkey.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
Since the start of the Syria crisis, DFID has allocated £24.2 million to support Syrian refugees in Turkey. DFID has also responded to the urgent needs of the newly arrived Syrian refugees fleeing ISIL advances on Kobane, working with the relevant authorities and our partners to provide mattresses, non-food items and shelter for the most needy families. We stand ready to respond positively should further aid be needed.