Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to integrate its (a) development and (b) humanitarian initiatives to protect children from violence in its response to the covid-19 pandemic.

The UK Government is committed to protecting vulnerable children and helping them to grow up free from violence through COVID-19 and beyond. DFID is working with international partners to ensure that child protection is prioritised and integrated into the multi-sectoral response to the pandemic.

We have committed £296 million to support the global health response and vulnerable countries, including £145 million to UN appeals. This includes: £20 million to UNICEF to support the continuity of essential social services for children, women and vulnerable populations, including child protection; £20 million to UNHCR to ensure continuity of critical protection activities, including child protection, through community-based interventions, remote protection interventions and counselling using a variety of channels and; £5 million to Education Cannot Wait to support children in crisis settings while they are out of school.

DFID is also working with all our humanitarian partners to ensure that they mainstream child protection within their operations and use available guidance and tools, including the 2019 Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action. DFID’s existing development programmes – which often support crisis-affected communities - have also adapted to the pandemic, integrating urgent response measures to keep children safe. For example, our Children on the Move programme, which is improving the child protection system for children migrating in Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia, has now established hotline services for children affected by the pandemic and is training social workers in family tracing.