Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the press release entitled UK announces new support for improving access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene in Asia and Africa, published on 22 March 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of that funding to improving water, sanitation and hygiene in those regions; which organisations and partners he plans to allocate that funding to; and which financing models he plans to use for that funding.

The UK's £18.5 million of funding of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Systems for Health has the potential, by strengthening systems, needed to establish reliable, resilient and inclusive WASH services, to help end preventable deaths in up to five developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Organisations and partners for the main delivery phase will be selected during the design phase. The financing model is expected to be a grant funding mechanism to partners that can demonstrate capability in supporting countries to strengthen their WASH systems.