Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to help to build resilience amongst domestic health services and systems in developing countries during the covid-19 outbreak.

Strong and resilient national health systems are vital to global health security and helping to protect the world from infectious diseases, including COVID-19. The UK has, so far, pledged £744 million of UK aid to help end the COVID-19 pandemic as quickly as possible. This includes a package of £200 million to support UK charities and international organisations to help reduce mass infections in developing countries, which often lack the healthcare systems to track and prevent the virus from spreading.

Through our multilateral partnerships with organisations like the WHO and the World Bank, and our regional and national programmes, the UK supports developing countries to make their domestic health systems stronger and more resilient. In turn this enables them to prevent, detect and respond to health threats, such as COVID-19. For example, DFIDs’ Tackling Deadly Diseases in Africa Programme includes capacity building for health security and preparedness for health emergencies, including disease surveillance.