Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what organisation or body they have established to assist with the rebuilding of homes, infrastructure and agricultural development following the recent floods in Malawi.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The UK has not established any new organisation or body to support floods recovery. DFID Malawi has committed to provide up to £4.1 million in response to the floods, which includes supporting communities to rebuild their homes and their livelihoods through existing programmes and through multilateral partners.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken, including provision of any financial support, to help with the humanitarian problems caused by recent floods in Malawi.
Answered by Baroness Northover
DFID Malawi has committed to provide up to £4.1 million to support both emergency response and early recovery efforts. These are funds from DFID Malawi’s 14/15 budget, including contingency humanitarian funds and the use of value for money savings. This is additional to the £3.4m already provided in response to meet the humanitarian needs of the food insecure during the lean season. DFID is working closely with partners to ensure that flooding support reaches those that need it most, in line with the Government of Malawi’s Preliminary Response Plan and coordinated through Government-led structures. No UK funding is channelled through Government of Malawi systems.
UK commitments so far include:
· £1m to the World Food Programme which is supplying 370,000 people with food for the first weeks, including by air to areas cut off by rising waters;
· £665,000 to UNICEF to provide emergency water, sanitation and hygiene facilities to prevent the spread of disease in displacement camps;
· Over £1m through NGO and private sector partners to provide seeds and tools to smallholder farmers whose crops have been damaged by the floods.
· £800,000 through the UN Humanitarian Fund, in support of particular coordination and camp management, nutrition, protection and health activities, plus funds for specialist UN personnel to coordinate the response.
In addition, a number of NGOs have also accessed the Start Fund, a funding mechanism for delivering rapid humanitarian assistance which is jointly funded by the UK and Irish Governments. ActionAid, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide and Save the Children have used £350,000 from the fund to provide vital resources to those displaced by the floods.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what further support they will provide to international institutions, non-governmental organisations or the government of Malawi in order to prevent the escalation of the humanitarian problems caused by the recent flooding in Malawi.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The UK has moved quickly to meet the immediate needs of those affected by the floods, and food supplies, water and sanitation, blankets and cooking utensils funded by the UK Government are getting through to affected households. We are also working to support communities to recover in the months to come, to allow displaced persons to return to their homes and rebuild their farms and their livelihoods. For example, we are providing funding to a consortium of NGO’s led by Concern Universal and to the Farmers’ Union of Malawi to enable them to distribute seeds and tools to help 54,000 smallholder farmers whose crops have been damaged by the floods. This funding will help ensure that as many as possible of those affected by the floods are still able to harvest crops this season, mitigating the threat of food insecurity. We have also provided funds to the World Food Programme, which will help feed 370,000 people affected by the floods and replenish the food stocks set aside for seasonal food insecurity.
The UK provides long-term support to Malawi to help build the resilience of communities against the threat of climate-related disasters, such as flooding and droughts. Our Enhancing Community Resilience Programme (ECRP) works with over a million vulnerable Malawians in eleven districts both to diversify their sources of income and prevent environmental degradation. With the help of this programme, some communities in flood-prone areas had already been supported to relocate their homes before the floods, and the programme had also installed flood early warning systems that were effective in saving lives. Our ECRP partners will be working in the coming months to help those farmers affected by the floods to rebuild their livelihoods.
We recognise the long-term challenges that climate change poses to Malawi. Over the next three years, the UK will use International Climate Fund resources to scale-up our efforts to enable vulnerable communities to be more resilient to climate shocks.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial support they have provided to the government of Malawi, international institutions or non-governmental organisations in response to the recent flooding in that country, broken down by organisation and amount.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The UK does not provide financial support to the Government of Malawi but we are working with the UN and our NGO partners in support of the Government’s Preliminary Response Plan. UN agencies and NGOs are the best mechanisms through which DFID can ensure quick delivery of UK aid to the people who need it most. We are working closely within the coordination structures established by the Government of Malawi and the UN to ensure our response evolves with the changing conditions on the ground. DFID Malawi will mobilise up to £4.1m to help meet the immediate needs of those affected by the floods, and to support early recovery to allow displaced persons to return to their homes and rebuild their livelihoods. Commitments so far include:
· £1m to the World Food Programme which has enabled them to supply 370,000 with food for the coming weeks;
· £665,000 to UNICEF to provide emergency water, sanitation and hygiene facilities to prevent the spread of disease in displacement camps;
· £575,000 to a consortium of NGO’s led by Concern Universal, £240,000 to the Farmers’ Union of Malawi and £30,000 through our private sector programme to provide seeds and tools to smallholder farmers whose crops have been damaged by the floods. Funding for the Concern Universal consortium is also financing the delivery of food, blankets, and household utensils to the worst hit areas in the first week of the flooding, as well as solar lighting – which is essential for the safety and protection of those living in camps – and fuel-efficient cook-stoves with sustainably harvested firewood.
· £800,000 through the UN Humanitarian Fund, in support of coordination, nutrition, protection and health activities – including support to the World Health Organisation to help prevent the outbreak of diseases and to provide reproductive health services to those living in displacement camps; and support to the International Organization of Migration to support camp management and coordination, and;
· Up to £230,000 to support UN personnel to coordinate the response.
In addition, a number of NGOs have also accessed the Start Fund, a funding mechanism for delivering rapid humanitarian assistance which is jointly funded by the UK and Irish Governments. ActionAid, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide and Save the Children have used £350,000 from the fund to provide vital resources to those displaced by the floods.
All of our partners who are directly receiving UK funds work with and through a range of national and international organisations, with strong and long-standing connections to communities on the ground.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent floods in Malawi and the impact on the population both immediately and in relation to the damage to public services and the economy of Malawi.
Answered by Baroness Northover
DFID has rapidly responded to the current floods in Malawi. Our response has been based on priorities identified through detailed assessments carried out by the United Nations and the Government of Malawi, validated by DFID officials on the ground. The floods are having a devastating impact on families, homes and livelihoods in the most affected areas. Recent assessments conducted by the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) now suggest that 104 people have died and 172 people are still missing. The number of people displaced to temporary shelters is now estimated at 230,000. DFID has responded to assist those in immediate need, particularly those now sheltering in Government and UN-coordinated displacement camps.
According to figures from the Government of Malawi, approximately 415 schools have been affected by the floods, either by being damaged or due to their use as shelter by displaced communities. District Government Officials are working hard to coordinate with international support to help affected students resume their learning as soon as possible. Around 2% of Malawi’s arable land has been flooded and DFID is working with its partners in Malawi to ensure that affected households are supported with seeds and tools, to allow them to return to their land as the water subsides and to replant their crops.
The latest updates from the Malawi Department of Disaster Management Affairs and United Nations Office of the Resident Coordinator can be found at: http://www.humanitarianresponse.info/operations/malawi
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will next publish a report on progress in implementing the commitments agreed and announced by United Kingdom Ministers at the Girl Summit held in London in July.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The first annual progress report on commitments made at Girl Summit 2014 – including those announced by United Kingdom Ministers – will be issued in July 2015.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have provided any humanitarian assistance to the people of Guinea Bissau in each of the last three years.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The UK Government has not provided direct humanitarian assistance to the people of Guinea Bissau in any of the last three years.
The UK Government provides humanitarian core funding to a number of UN agencies, who in turn have provided funding to Guinea Bissau. For example, between 2011 and 2013 the UK Government provided over $300m to the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which in turn allocated over $3m to Guinea Bissau.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the end-of-year spending totals by programme for Official Development Assistance to Malawi in the financial years 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, and 2013–14.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The table below shows total amounts for each year:
| Year | £ Thousands |
| 2009 | £71, 512 |
| 2010 | £95,848 |
| 2011 | £64,915 |
| 2012 | £124,253 |
| 2013 | £113,375 |
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what changes to actual programmes funded by Official Development Assistance have taken place since the suspension of budget support in Malawi in 2011.
Answered by Baroness Northover
General budget support to Malawi was suspended in 2011 due to concerns relating to human rights and public financial management. Tightly managed sector budget support for health and education was continued by all donors but following the Cashgate scandal in November 2013 this too was suspended. There can be no consideration of putting UK funding through Malawi government systems until the integrity of the Government’s financial management systems has been restored and independently verified.
The UK is still committed to poverty reduction and supporting poor people in Malawi, through a large programme of ongoing investments delivered outside of government systems, in health, education, agriculture, water and sanitation, economic development and governance.