Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian effect of the drought in (a) Somalia, (b) Ethiopia and (c) the rest of the East and Horn of Africa; and what steps he is taking to support people at risk of food insecurity.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
DFID is concerned by the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the east and Horn of Africa. This is a result of poor rainfall across much of the region and political instability and insecurity, including in Sudan and South Sudan.
In Somalia, drought and subsequent widespread crop failure and decline in livestock productivity has resulted in a projected increase in people experiencing acute food insecurity, from 1.7 million to 2.2 million by August 2019. DFID has recently allocated £8 million to support both emergency, life-saving interventions, and longer-term resilience actions focusing on sustainable water supply and the protection of livelihoods. This brings our total humanitarian spend in Somalia in 2019 to £40 million.
In Ethiopia, the humanitarian situation remains challenging. The 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) seeks US$1.314 billion to reach 8.3 million people with emergency food and non-food assistance. DFID has currently allocated £30 million to meet emergency food and non-food needs. The Department supports the Government of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) that reaches 8 million chronically food insecure people in drought affected regions with conditional cash transfers. DFID plans to contribute £16.7 million to the PSNP this year.
DFID will continue to monitor the situation and press the international community to commit further support where it is needed. DFID will also continue to support communities and states in the east and Horn of Africa to build resilience to crises and shocks. Our work on humanitarian early warning systems raises awareness of crises where food security is deteriorating, and we prioritise longer-term responses to support food security, including through agricultural programmes.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment he has made of the potential level of deterioration in food security throughout the greater Horn of Africa during September 2019; and what steps he is taking to ensure the urgent increase in activity to tackle the predicted large-scale emergency assistance needs.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
DFID is concerned by deteriorating levels of food security in the Horn of Africa. This is a result of poor rainfall across much of the region and political instability and insecurity, including in Sudan and South Sudan.
The UK is a world leader in supporting those at risk of food insecurity, and has taken early action across the region to save lives. This includes £8 million of additional support in Somalia to support emergency interventions and resilience. In Ethiopia, DFID supports the Government of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) that reaches 8 million chronically food insecure people in drought affected regions with conditional cash transfers. DFID plans to contribute £16.7 million to the PSNP this year. In Sudan, the UK has already contributed £30 million this fiscal year to humanitarian interventions. DFID will continue to monitor the situation closely and press the international community to commit further support where it is needed.
DFID will continue to support communities and states in the Horn to build resilience to crises and shocks. Our work on humanitarian early warning systems raises awareness of crises where food security is deteriorating, and we prioritise longer-term responses to support food security, including through agricultural programmes.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department is providing to Malawi as a result of cyclone Idai.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Government of Malawi and UN have reported that around 730,000 people have been affected by flooding in Malawi linked to the Cyclone Idai weather system, with over 87,000 displaced, and 59 deaths.
DFID is working closely with partners to respond quickly. The Secretary of State has approved £22 million to victims across the region. In Malawi, DFID has committed £3.4 million that will provide: 65,000 people with relief items and shelter; 150,000 people with immediate food assistance for two months; 250,000 people with water, sanitation and hygiene support; and 130,000 people with health services.
This supplements our existing resilience-building programming which is providing cash transfers to feed 140,000 people until the end of March.
DFID is the largest donor to the START Fund that has allocated £412,911 to an NGO consortium to meet immediate needs, such as clean water and shelter in Malawi.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department is providing to Mozambique as a result of cyclone Idai.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
DFID is providing up to £22 million of additional UK support to the people affected by the devastating floods in Southern Africa. UK aid is supporting the World Food Programme to feed 400,000 people in Mozambique for two weeks by distributing emergency food and food vouchers for people to use at local markets. We have sent life-saving relief supplies: tents and thousands of shelter kits that have now landed in Mozambique. We will continue to monitor the situation very closely, and the UK stands ready to provide further support if needed.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what emergency assistance her Department is providing to Zimbabwe as a result of cyclone Idai.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK has committed £22 million to support the humanitarian response to cyclone Idai covering Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. As at 25 March, £850,000 of emergency assistance has already been allocated to Zimbabwe. This money has provided essential medical and nutritional supplies and will support urgent efforts to improve access to water and sanitation. We are also supporting psycho-social support and trauma counselling to affected children. We continue to monitor the situation very closely and stand ready to provide further support if needed.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department is providing to UNHCR for its work in Niger.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
In 2018, the UK provided £600,000 to UNHCR to support and protect thousands of refugees in southeast Niger.
From 2019, the UK is providing £6 million to the World Food Programme, who will work with UNHCR, to provide six months of food and cash assistance to 75,000 refugees, internally displaced people and host communities in Niger and ensure that assistance is targeted to meet the specific needs of the most vulnerable men, women, boys and girls.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many Afro-descendant-led organisations in Colombia are in receipt of UK Government funding.
Answered by Alistair Burt
UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) data is collected and reported according to a standard international classification produced by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Following this classification, data is collected by broad groups of delivery partners and reported as such in TableA5 of DFID’s Statistics on International Development publication, available here.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, following the publication of the 2018 Aid Transparency Index, what steps her Department is taking to meet its goal of helping all departments to achieve a good or very good rating in that index by 2020.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
DFID has helped develop guidance on publishing to the International Aid Transparency Initiative open data standard (IATI), and continues to provide advice and tailored training to other government departments. The Department hosted transparency workshops in 2016, 2017, and again in July 2018. Transparency is regularly discussed at the cross-Whitehall Official Development Assistance (ODA) Ministerial meetings, which the Secretary of State co-Chairs. Transparency is also discussed at the regular cross-Government Senior Officials Group on ODA and also covered at operational level at cross-Government ODA Learning Days.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will review will her Department's civilian protection strategy in light of the recommendations in the 2018 Save the Children report, War on Children.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Department for International Development does not have a specific civilian protection strategy. The Government’s 2017 Humanitarian Reform Policy sets out our objectives for, and approach to, protecting people in crises and upholding humanitarian norms and principles, laying out how we work for the protection of civilians.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies on the protection of children in armed conflicts of the findings of the Save the Children report entitled War on Children, published in February 2018.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK is firmly committed to ensuring that the needs of children affected by conflict are addressed. 50% of DFID’s spending is directed towards fragile states and regions, including the many countries which Save the Children highlights are the most dangerous for children.
Our investment in protecting children in conflict zones is emphasised through our many multilateral and bilateral programmes around the world. Some of the examples of how we achieve this are as follows. We are the largest contributor to Education Cannot Wait, the first global movement aid fund dedicated to education in emergencies and protracted crises. Through this, we target some of the world’s most vulnerable children, aiming to reach 3.4 million children through its first set of investments. We contribute funds to the No Lost Generation Initiative, a commitment by the international community to support children and youth affected by the Syria and Iraq crises, mainly in education and protection. In Somalia, we work with the UN and international NGOs to ensure the rights of children affected by conflict are addressed through family reunification, support to their nutrition needs and reducing the risks faced by displaced children. In Yemen and Iraq we fund UN agencies to undertake critical child protection work. In Afghanistan we seek to change the way the conflict is fought to reduce child casualties and ensure that vulnerable children have access to supportive services.