Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department plans to promote an inclusive humanitarian response to COVID-19 to meet deliverable 5 of her Department's Strategy for Disability Inclusive Development 2018-23, published in December 2018.

The UK is playing a leading role in the global response to COVID-19. The UK has, so far, pledged £744 million of UK aid to help end this pandemic as quickly as possible. In addition, we are urgently redirecting existing support and programmes to be more responsive to COVID-19.

The UK continues to work with international partners, including the United Nations and its agencies, to ensure aid reaches those most in need. We are providing expert advice to governments and international partners to act quickly to assess how and where social protection or humanitarian cash systems could be best used to support an efficient, coordinated response. We are prioritising inclusion across this support and ensuring that the needs of the most vulnerable, including people with disabilities, are central to our discussions with partners and governments.

Through DFID’s co-chairing role for the Global Action on Disability (GLAD) donor Network, DFID is pushing for a coordinated response to COVID-19 by GLAD members, comprising of bilateral and multilateral donors, foundations and the private sector.