Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to contribute to the UN Global Humanitarian Response Plan to tackle COVID-19.

The UK strongly supports the UN’s Global Humanitarian Response Plan to tackle COVID-19. Our latest UK aid funding of £200 million, announced on 12 April, will enable humanitarian organisations to help reduce mass infections in developing countries which often lack the healthcare systems to track and halt the virus. This funding includes £130 million to UN agencies in response to their COVID-19 humanitarian appeals and £50 million to the Red Cross to help its efforts in difficult to reach areas, such as those affected by armed conflict. We continue to urge other countries to step up to support international appeals.

Additionally, the UK has pledged £50 million to match £50 million from Unilever for a joint global hygiene project targeting up to a billion people with awareness and behavioural change campaigns to promote handwashing and providing 20 million hygiene items like soap and bleach to help the most vulnerable communities protect themselves.

This humanitarian funding brings the total amount of UK aid committed to fight COVID-19 to £744 million. This includes support to develop new vaccines, tests and treatments; humanitarian aid and support for the International Monetary Fund to help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the world’s most vulnerable countries.