Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department is giving Libya in terms of medical and food aid.

From 2017 to 2019, DFID are partnering with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to improve access to quality medical care services for people in the cities of Tripoli, Benghazi and Sabha. The WHO aim to reach 3.6m indirect beneficiaries through DFID’s £2m contribution. This will improve medical access for Libyans, including internally displaced persons, and migrants. The distribution of life-saving medication to health centres began in May 2018.

DFID has also contributed to the 2017 and 2018 International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) appeals. Through multi donor support ICRC aim to provide 408,000 people in Libya with food, and provide medical supplies to support 16 health centres and 6 hospitals in 2018. DFID’s £1m contribution will assist ICRC in distributing food and medical supplies to vulnerable people in Libya.

As part of our new £75m migration programme, DFID has committed up to £5m of further assistance in Libya. This is expected to include health care provision for migrants and other assistance and protection activities.