Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what effect UK overseas development assistance has had on levels of female genital mutilation over the last 10 years.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
Today a girl is about one-third less likely to be cut than 30 years ago, but UNICEF estimates that at least 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The UK leads the world in our support to the Africa-led movement to end FGM. Since 2013, our programmes have enabled 8,000 communities, representing 24 million people, to pledge to abandon FGM, and over 3 million girls to receive FGM protection and care services.
We know, however, that more needs to be done and in 2018 we announced a further £50 million UK aid package – the biggest single investment worldwide to date by any international donor – to tackle this issue across the most-affected countries in Africa.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what effect UK overseas development assistance has had on the take up of primary education over the last 10 years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The UK is a leader in global education. Between 2000 and 2018, the global number of children out of primary school dropped from 100 million to 59 million. The biggest proportion of bilateral UK Aid education spend (35%) is for basic education and between 2015 and 2019 UK Aid supported 14.3 million children to gain a decent education, including at least 5.8 million girls.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the effect of UK overseas development assistance on levels of maternal mortality in the last 10 years.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The global Maternal Mortality Ratio has declined on average by 2.9% every year since 2000. More specifically, this ratio reduced from 274 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2007 to 211 in 2017.
This result is due to countries’ own investments as well as those from the entire development community, to which DFID is a major contributor. Using internationally agreed methods, we estimate that DFID has spent approximately £1 billion per year on reproductive, maternal newborn and child health between 2013/14 – 2016/17. DFID has contributed to reduced maternal mortality through our bilateral and central health programmes that focus on strengthening health systems (e.g. through health worker training, drugs and equipment). We also support the development of global and national policies. We have led the world on increasing access to family planning and remain a champion on these issues. We recently announced a renewed commitment to end preventable deaths of mothers and newborns by 2030.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the effect of UK overseas development assistance on levels of contraception prevalence in the last 10 years.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
In 2019, the modern contraceptive prevalence rate among all women of reproductive age in the 69 Family Planning 2020 movement focus countries was 34.8%, compared to 32.5% in 2012. This represent 46 million additional users of modern methods of family planning – of which we estimate 13.2 million has been reached by DFID programmes, with rapid increases in Kenya, Mozambique, Malawi, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Chad – relative to what was expected in 2012.
Global adolescent fertility rates have reduced from 48 births per 1,000 adolescent girls in 2007, to 42 births per 1,000 adolescent girls in 2017. These results are due to countries’ own investments as well as investments from the entire development community.
The UK leads the world in our long-term support for comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including for family planning. At UNGA this September, the Secretary of State reiterated our commitment to SRHR and announced a new £600m Reproductive Health Supplies programme running from 2020 to 2025, that will give over 20 million women and girls access to family planning per year. We are the second largest bilateral donor for family planning in developing countries and work through our country level and central programmes. These programmes provide access to family planning services, support an increase in demand for contraception and help countries to develop their own programmes. We have also led global family planning advocacy networks such as FP2020.
At the Family Planning Summit in 2017, we committed to increasing the focus on reaching adolescents in our programmes.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the effect of UK overseas development assistance on reducing adolescent birth rates in the last 10 years.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
In 2019, the modern contraceptive prevalence rate among all women of reproductive age in the 69 Family Planning 2020 movement focus countries was 34.8%, compared to 32.5% in 2012. This represent 46 million additional users of modern methods of family planning – of which we estimate 13.2 million has been reached by DFID programmes, with rapid increases in Kenya, Mozambique, Malawi, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Chad – relative to what was expected in 2012.
Global adolescent fertility rates have reduced from 48 births per 1,000 adolescent girls in 2007, to 42 births per 1,000 adolescent girls in 2017. These results are due to countries’ own investments as well as investments from the entire development community.
The UK leads the world in our long-term support for comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including for family planning. At UNGA this September, the Secretary of State reiterated our commitment to SRHR and announced a new £600m Reproductive Health Supplies programme running from 2020 to 2025, that will give over 20 million women and girls access to family planning per year. We are the second largest bilateral donor for family planning in developing countries and work through our country level and central programmes. These programmes provide access to family planning services, support an increase in demand for contraception and help countries to develop their own programmes. We have also led global family planning advocacy networks such as FP2020.
At the Family Planning Summit in 2017, we committed to increasing the focus on reaching adolescents in our programmes.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what additional resources her Department has provided to the humanitarian relief operations in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Answered by Rory Stewart
In response to the £50 million United Nations flash appeal for the Kasais in April 2017, the UK has committed £4.65 million of new funding for emergency lifesaving humanitarian assistance to the Kasais. Taking into account broader humanitarian support to DRC, the total UK humanitarian support to the Kasais to more than £7.7 million. The UK also provides support to healthcare, WASH and education activities in the region.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of UK aid was delivered by the aid agencies of other countries in (a) the most recent period for which figures are available and (b) each of the last five years.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The table below shows the percentage of total UK Official Development Assistance delivered by the aid agencies of other countries for each of the past five years.
Year | Proportion of Total UK ODA |
2010 | 0.7% |
2011 | 0.6% |
2012 | 1.4% |
2013 | 1.3% |
2014 | 1.3% |
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of UK aid is delivered by third parties in each recipient country.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The UK spends aid through a range of delivery partners. Delivery partners are selected based on a value for money assessment of their capacity to deliver our objectives in the country we are working in.
Overall, for 2014, approximately 60% of total UK aid was delivered through multilateral organisations, 13% through non-governmental organisations, with the remainder through other partners including private sector suppliers, partner governments and research institutes.
Full details of 2015 spend in-country by delivery partners will be published in Statistics on International Development on 17th November.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will consider developing an atrocity prevention lens similar to the framework used by the UN Office for the Prevention of Genocide to assist in decision-making on bilateral aid and other aid assistance programmes.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The UK continues to be strongly committed to early and effective international action to prevent mass atrocities, which are of grave concern to the Government. The National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (SDSR) underlined the importance the Government attaches to upholding international humanitarian law and to the prevention of mass atrocities through effective implementation of the UN agreed principle of the Responsibility to Protect.
The Government’s overseas network, strong international partnerships, and early warning mechanisms give the UK significant insight into emerging risks. HMG also produces an internal risk report on countries at risk of instability, which highlights regions in which there are increasing risks of instability, conflict and mass atrocities. The report draws on a wide range of sources and includes indicators that highlight the risk of mass atrocities occurring. The data assessment reflects best practice from NGOs and partner governments’ and is kept under regular review. Policy-makers also take into account atrocity risk analysis from partner governments, the UN and NGOs.
As set out in the SDSR and the UK Aid Strategy, the response to conflict, atrocity and other risks uses diplomatic, development, defence and law enforcement capabilities in an integrated manner. As such, addressing and preventing conflict, instability and state failure is a key priority running through UK aid policies and programmes. This includes the prevention of identity-based mass violence, alongside other forms of violence and instability.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when a Government Minister last visited (a) Burundi, (b) Democratic Republic of Congo and (c) Central African Republic.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) (Mark Simmonds) visited Burundi in April 2014. My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (James Duddridge) visited Burundi in December 2015.
Ministers from both DFID and the FCO have visited the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at DFID (Lynne Featherstone) in April 2013, the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the FCO (Mark Simmonds) in April 2014, and the Minister of State at the FCO (Baroness Anelay) in October 2015.
Ministers have not visited the Central African Republic (CAR) in recent years.