Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which Official Development Assistance programmes that his Department funds focus on supporting women and girls.

Defra’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) programmes deliver primarily on climate and biodiversity objectives but consideration is given to the contribution of all activities to reducing gender inequality, in line with the Gender Equality Act 2014.

Some Defra ODA-funded programmes directly support women and girls, such as the International Climate Finance Blue Forests Initiative in Madagascar and Indonesia, a £10.1 million project to reduce the deforestation of mangrove habitat, create new sustainable livelihoods, support community health and women's empowerment and increase climate resilience in coastal communities. The Darwin Initiative funds hundreds of biodiversity projects worldwide, including the 'Partnering with Business for Restoration of Mt Kenya ecosystem services' project, which has worked with women in community-based organisations in Kenya, supporting them to fill leadership positions where they can voice their concerns and positively contribute to community-led initiatives.

Further examples of Darwin projects that have supported women and girls can be found in a recent Darwin Initiative newsletter: www.darwininitiative.org.uk/assets/uploads/Darwin-Newsletter-March-2020-Gender-Equality-Empowerment-FINAL.pdf.