Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance the UK has allocated for the current financial year to help victims of rape and torture in Tigray.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK provided £241 million of bilateral Official Development Assistance in 2020/21. The UK made the decision in November 2020 to pause financial aid payments to the Government of Ethiopia destined for Tigray but we continue to provide support to people in Tigray via UN and NGO partners. £22 million has been allocated to the humanitarian response in Tigray to support those in need.
UK-funded partners such as UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), UN's World Food Programme (WFP) and International Committee of the Red Cross are providing food, shelter, water and healthcare in challenging circumstances. The UK is in the process of allocating budgets for programmes this financial year. As we do this, we will continue to review and adapt to the context.
The UK is also supporting civil society partners in Tigray to deliver gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health response, which includes helping rape survivors. Final budgets are under review but we are also planning to support the documentation and investigation of such crimes.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent progress has been made of the deployment of the UK Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative team of experts to Tigray.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK is appalled by reports of atrocities including widespread rape and other forms of sexual violence perpetrated by different armed groups in Tigray. This is unacceptable. The G7, under the UK Presidency, issued a communique on 5 May which condemned rape and sexual exploitation, and other forms of gender-based violence and called for all parties to cease hostilities immediately, ensure respect for human rights and international law and hold those responsible for human rights violations and abuses, including sexual violence, accountable. The UK will support the UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure that their joint investigations into atrocities in Tigray with the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission are independent, transparent and impartial and that those responsible for these human rights abuses are held to account.
We are working to promote justice for survivors of sexual violence, to provide support to survivors and children born of conflict related sexual violence and to prevent sexual violence from occurring. British Embassy staff conducted a specific protection mission in Shire in Tigray on 4-7 April. It included the assessment of the current Gender-Based Violence response, specific emergency services provided in camps and the gaps that need to be filled. They interviewed staff and volunteers supporting survivors of sexual violence to identify essential activities required to address the immediate needs of the survivors as well as the accountability needs to ensure well-informed and effective assistance. We are currently identifying personnel from the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative Team of Experts who can deploy to the region.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to report any evidence of sexual violence in Tigray to relevant international justice mechanisms.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK is appalled by reports of atrocities including widespread rape and other forms of sexual violence perpetrated by different armed groups in Tigray. This is unacceptable. The G7, under the UK Presidency, issued a communique on 5 May which condemned rape and sexual exploitation, and other forms of gender-based violence and called for all parties to cease hostilities immediately, ensure respect for human rights and international law and hold those responsible for human rights violations and abuses, including sexual violence, accountable. The UK will support the UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure that their joint investigations into atrocities in Tigray with the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission are independent, transparent and impartial and that those responsible for these human rights abuses are held to account.
We are working to promote justice for survivors of sexual violence, to provide support to survivors and children born of conflict related sexual violence and to prevent sexual violence from occurring. British Embassy staff conducted a specific protection mission in Shire in Tigray on 4-7 April. It included the assessment of the current Gender-Based Violence response, specific emergency services provided in camps and the gaps that need to be filled. They interviewed staff and volunteers supporting survivors of sexual violence to identify essential activities required to address the immediate needs of the survivors as well as the accountability needs to ensure well-informed and effective assistance. We are currently identifying personnel from the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative Team of Experts who can deploy to the region.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that neglected tropical diseases programmes affected by a reduction in Official Development Assistance funding are able to continue operating.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The seismic impact of the pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take tough but necessary decisions, including temporarily reducing the overall amount we spend on aid, and exiting from some programmes, including the Accelerating the Sustainable Control and Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) programme. We will still spend more than £10 billion this year to fight poverty, tackle climate change, and improve global health, which remains a top priority for UK ODA. We will focus on the UK's position at the forefront of the international response to COVID-19 through our commitments to COVAX, Gavi, and WHO, and through bilateral spend where the need is greatest in Africa. Where we have taken the decision to exit programmes, this will be done in a measured way, working closely with our delivery partners.
The UK has made a significant contribution to global efforts towards protecting hundreds of millions of people from NTDs. Malaria is not classified as an NTD by the World Health Organisation. We remain committed to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of reducing funding for neglected tropical disease programmes on progress towards the elimination of (a) malaria, (b) elephantiasis and (c) blinding trachoma.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The seismic impact of the pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take tough but necessary decisions, including temporarily reducing the overall amount we spend on aid, and exiting from some programmes, including the Accelerating the Sustainable Control and Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) programme. We will still spend more than £10 billion this year to fight poverty, tackle climate change, and improve global health, which remains a top priority for UK ODA. We will focus on the UK's position at the forefront of the international response to COVID-19 through our commitments to COVAX, Gavi, and WHO, and through bilateral spend where the need is greatest in Africa. Where we have taken the decision to exit programmes, this will be done in a measured way, working closely with our delivery partners.
The UK has made a significant contribution to global efforts towards protecting hundreds of millions of people from NTDs. Malaria is not classified as an NTD by the World Health Organisation. We remain committed to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of reducing funding for neglected tropical disease programmes on the worldwide prevalence of (a) malaria, (b) elephantiasis and (c) blinding trachoma.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The seismic impact of the pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take tough but necessary decisions, including temporarily reducing the overall amount we spend on aid, and exiting from some programmes, including the Accelerating the Sustainable Control and Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) programme. We will still spend more than £10 billion this year to fight poverty, tackle climate change, and improve global health, which remains a top priority for UK ODA. We will focus on the UK's position at the forefront of the international response to COVID-19 through our commitments to COVAX, Gavi, and WHO, and through bilateral spend where the need is greatest in Africa. Where we have taken the decision to exit programmes, this will be done in a measured way, working closely with our delivery partners.
The UK has made a significant contribution to global efforts towards protecting hundreds of millions of people from NTDs. Malaria is not classified as an NTD by the World Health Organisation. We remain committed to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 29 April 2021 to Question 187201 on India: Overseas Aid, what strategies are considered when allocating UK aid to non-Governmental programmes in India; and what non-Governmental programmes in India receive UK aid.
Answered by Nigel Adams
In January this year, the Foreign Secretary led a cross-government process to review, appraise and finalise Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations across all geographies, to maximise the Government's strategic focus in the use of ODA next year. In completing this process, officials considered any impact on women and girls, the most marginalised and vulnerable, people with disabilities and people from other protected groups, when developing advice to Ministers.
Information on our programmes in India, including our implementing partners, is published online and can be viewed on devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the reduction to the Official Development Assistance budget on the UK’s foreign aid budget for India, excluding money spent in emergency aid to support health infrastructure during India's second wave of covid-19.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We stand side by side with India as a friend and partner during what is a deeply concerning time in the fight against COVID-19. The UK has been the first country to deliver life-saving medical support to India and continues to work closely with the Government of India to identify what support we can provide in the coming days, based on their most pressing needs.
As the Foreign Secretary set out in his Written Ministerial Statement on 21 April, we have prioritised our aid to be more strategic and remain a force for good across the world. Since 2015, the UK has given no aid money to the Government of India. The FCDO makes investments and deploys world-leading expertise in areas of mutual interest. Our work in India reduces poverty, tackles climate change and creates new partners and markets for the UK.
Following a thorough review, the FCDO's aid budget has been allocated in accordance with UK strategic priorities against a challenging financial climate of COVID. Throughout this process, we have strived to ensure that every penny of our aid brings maximum strategic coherence, impact and value for taxpayers' money. We are now working through what this means for individual programmes, in line with UK strategic priorities identified. We stand side by side with India as a friend and partner during what is a deeply concerning time in the fight against COVID-19. The UK is working closely with the Government of India to identify further assistance we can provide in the coming days, based on their most pressing needs.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the reduction to Official Development Assistance on the UK’s foreign aid budget for China.
Answered by Nigel Adams
As the Foreign Secretary set out in his Written Ministerial Statement on 21 April, we have prioritised our aid to be more strategic and remain a force for good across the world. Following a thorough review, the FCDO's aid budget has been allocated in accordance with UK strategic priorities against a challenging financial climate of COVID-19. Throughout this process, we have strived to ensure that every penny of our aid brings maximum strategic coherence, impact and value for taxpayers' money. We have cut FCDO aid programming to China by 95 per cent in 2021, focusing the remaining programme funding on specific programmes that support British values around open societies and human rights. We are now working through what this means for individual programmes, in line with UK strategic priorities identified.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of the UK's total Official Development Assistance budget was allocated to sexual and reproductive health and rights (a) including family planning and reproductive, maternal, and neonatal health and (b) excluding child health as calculated using the Muskoka 2 methodology in (i) 2017, (ii) 2018 and (iii) 2019.
Answered by Wendy Morton
All Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) official aid spend can be found in the Statistics on International Development UK Aid report at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/statistics-on-international-development
The latest Muskoka2 donor estimates were published as part of the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual & Reproductive Rights in the Donor Delivering Report and cover 2016 to 2018. The report is available at: https://www.epfweb.org/node/90
A more detailed Muskoka2 donor estimates report covering 2002-2017 is available at: https://datacompass.lshtm.ac.uk/id/eprint/1526/
An updated Muskoka2 report is expected to be published on the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine datacompass website later this year. Musoka2 estimates are not available for 2019 onwards due to reporting timeframes of multilateral agencies and external data compilation.