Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what humanitarian assistance they are providing to the 5.7 million children in the Horn of Africa who are expected to suffer acute malnourishment this year as a result of the ongoing drought.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK is a major humanitarian donor to the East Africa region. In 2022 the UK has provided £72 million to support more than one million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan affected by conflict, drought and flooding. Across the region UK-funded humanitarian activities are making a difference and saving lives. In Kenya the UK is providing 26,000 children with life-saving nutritional support. In Ethiopia a further 200,000 children and pregnant and lactating women in southern and eastern regions will receive similar aid. The UK also played a critical role in convening the recent UN Horn of Africa Drought Roundtable which took place in late April in Geneva. This included working with states in the region and the UN to ensure appropriate levels of participation. It helped to bring much needed focus on the drought and it mobilised roughly US$400 million in new funding.
Our response to the drought builds on long-established resilience building programmes in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. In Kenya this includes support to the Hunger Safety Programme, which has provided 600,000 people in drought prone areas with regular financial assistance. In Ethiopia, the UK funded Productive Safety Net Programme has benefitted some 8 million people via financial welfare provision and community public works projects. In Somalia the UK has been supporting over 220 rural communities in three large urban cities with durable solutions initiatives for internally displaced persons. These programmes, coupled with additional investments, have enabled the UK to reach nearly 8 million individuals as a part of our emergency humanitarian response.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect that the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Health Workforce Support and Safeguard List will be updated; and what discussions, if any, they have had with the WHO about this.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The World Health Organisation have confirmed that they will be preparing a 2022 update of their Health Workforce Support and Safeguard list for publication in early 2023, alongside their regular reporting on their Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel. The UK will participate in their first Member State consultation on this update later this month.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the shortage of health care workers in Zimbabwe, what discussions, if any, they have had with the (1) government of Zimbabwe, and (2) World Health Organisation, about Zimbabwe remaining on the World Health Organisation Health Workforce Support and Safeguard Green List.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We regularly engage with the Government of Zimbabwe on a breadth of health care issues. Our Embassy officials met with the Permanent Secretary for Health and Child Care at the beginning of March. The UK is one of the largest donors to Zimbabwean health care. Between 2017 and 2022, the UK will have provided £130 million of support through the pooled Health Development Fund (HDF). The HDF focuses on delivering sexual, reproductive, maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health and nutrition services including support to health workers in primary health care facilities. The UK also provides critical support to Zimbabwe's health sector via global health initiatives like the Global Fund, GAVI and the Global Finance Facility.
The UK supports the freedom of movement of skilled workers and follows the guidelines as set out in the WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguard Green List. We will continue to engage the World Health Organisation to ensure a strategic approach to health worker recruitment, retention and migration.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had at ministerial level with Southern African Development Community (SADC) members states concerning the prospect for free and fair elections with respect to the 26 March (1) parliamentary, and (2) municipal, by-elections in Zimbabwe.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
There has been no ministerial contact with the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) partners specifically on Zimbabwe's March 26 by-elections. However, through our Embassies and High Commissions, the UK regularly discusses the political, economic, and human rights situation in Zimbabwe with its international partners. The UK is committed to working in partnership with the SADC and the African Union as well as other international organisations. The Minister for Africa met with President Mnangagwa on 1 November 2021 and raised our concerns regarding human rights, the shrinking of democratic space and the importance of Zimbabwe demonstrating a positive trajectory ahead of the 2023 elections. The UK continues to urge the Zimbabwean Government to fulfil their own constitution and their commitments to reform electoral laws.