Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of recent reports by NGO Monitor that UK aid dispensed by the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs to support coronavirus relief efforts in the West Bank and Gaza has been sent to organisations with links to terrorism.

The UK maintains robust measures to ensure that UK aid is not diverted. DFID’s funding agreements also commit partners to understand and comply with UK and international counter terrorism legislation.

No UK funds have been provided to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs for COVID-19 relief efforts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). The UK has provided £840,000 to WHO and UNICEF to help respond to COVID-19 in the OPTs. This funding did not go to any other partners and was used to purchase and co-ordinate the delivery of medical equipment, treat critical care patients, train frontline public health personnel and scale up laboratory testing capacity.