Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she has taken to ensure that existing, non-covid-19 related programmes will be continue as far as possible in the Global South; and whether the budget for those programmes will be increased in response to potential increases in capacity and logistical problems as a result of staff-sickness.
Answered by Wendy Morton
DFID programme leads are assessing the impacts of the pandemic on each of our programmes, based on their expert understanding of the delivery context. We have ensured that they have access to advice on how to adapt programmes, including extending end dates and budgets where appropriate, to recognise the challenges that COVID-19 is placing on staff and partners.
I am working with officials to ensure that we balance our support to the COVID-19 response with a need to continue other programmes that are helping deliver the Global Goals and will enable longer-term recovery through rebuilding livelihoods, economies and health systems.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of covid-19 on her Department's Strategic Vision for Gender Equality.
Answered by Wendy Morton
DFID is proud to be a global leader on gender equality. UKaid has helped millions of women access family planning services, enabled 5.6 million girls go to school so they can realise their full potential, and supported the Africa-led movement to end FGM. The Strategic Vision for Gender Equality enables us to take a dynamic approach to maximise our impact in the face of changing global challenges. Emerging evidence from the COVID-19 crisis reinforces just how critical the priorities of the Strategic Vision remain, for example the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG) is reinforced by the worrying increase we are currently seeing in reported cases of VAWG, globally.
DFID is supporting an effective whole-of-system international response to COVID-19. This includes providing £10 million additional funding to the United Nations Population Fund and £20 million to the UN Children’s Fund to scale up protection and support services for women and girls and working with partners to encourage a gender-centred and responsive approach across the international community. This is the latest example of how the UK continues to be a progressive force for women and girls internationally.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on the provision of sexual and reproductive health services in lower income countries; and which international NGOs she is working with to minimise the effect on those services.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Evidence shows that women and girls’ sexual and reproductive rights (SRHR) are under pressure as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Guttmacher Institute has estimated that a 10% decline in reproductive, maternal, new-born and child health services over the course of a year in low and low-middle income countries could lead to 49 million women with an unmet need for contraceptives and 15 million unintended pregnancies. We are tracking this and other assessments as they emerge, and are in frequent touch with our NGO and UN partners in countries to monitor the constraints and the barriers women, girls and marginalised groups may be facing as a direct or indirect impact of COVID-19.
UK leadership on sexual and reproductive health and rights is needed now more than ever. We will continue to be a progressive voice internationally on this issue, and work with our partners through the crisis so they can continue to provide SRHR services and ensure that every woman and girl can continue to realise her right to choose. For example, ‘WISH’, our regional women’s sexual & reproductive health programme, operates in 27 countries around the world, working with partners Marie Stopes International and the International Planned Parenthood Foundation. WISH is finding innovative ways to keep delivering desperately-needed services and supplies during COVID-19, while also supporting efforts to stop the spread of the disease.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to improve (a) sanitation, (b) ICU capacity and (c) emergency health care in refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Answered by Nigel Adams
With no confirmed COVID-19 cases yet in the camps, there has been intense focus on preparedness for responding to an outbreak when it occurs. This includes funding our partners to distribute soap, build more handwashing facilities, and raise awareness about personal hygiene. Temporary isolation and treatment facilities are being rapidly constructed for severe and critical cases. These will have capacity for over 1,000 beds. Community case management will be supported through existing and auxiliary health facilities in the camps. Health teams already working in the camps will be bolstered by international medical surge teams who are on standby to deploy, once flights and access are arranged.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to take account of the views of affected (a) women and (b) elderly refugees in providing support to refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK prioritises the protection and safeguarding of women and the elderly in our humanitarian response to the Rohingya crisis. UK support to partners, including BRAC University Centre for Peace and Justice, BBC Media Action and Translators without Borders, provides information for the humanitarian community drawing directly on the views of Rohingya and host communities, including women and the elderly. This recently included a report sharing the concerns of older men and women about COVID-19. The UK also funds HelpAge International to work with humanitarian organisations to build their capacity to support older people and people with disabilities.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the accuracy of reports that the covid-19 pandemic is causing a rise in gender-based violence throughout the world; and what steps her Department is taking to support women and girls in vulnerable communities facing a heightened risk of gender-based violence.
Answered by Wendy Morton
There is compelling evidence of a surge in violence against women and girls (VAWG) during the COVID-19 outbreak, which is deeply concerning. We know from our humanitarian work the importance of taking a ‘no regrets’ approach: we should assume VAWG is occurring and take action to prevent and respond to it as a lifesaving measure from the earliest stages of the response.
DFID is working across the UK government and with global partners to prevent violence and ensure women and girls have access to vital services. We have provided £10 million of UK aid to UNFPA and £20 million to UNICEF to scale up protection and support services for women and girls. We have contributed £20 million of UK aid to UNHCR’s COVID-19 response for refugees and internally displaced people. This response includes support for essential VAWG and child protection services. We launched a call for proposals under our Rapid Response Facility, which required all projects to mainstream gender, protection and safeguarding. We are also urgently reorienting existing bilateral programmes to ensure women and girls can continue to access support during the lockdown. In Nepal, for example, the UK has financed 14 Women’s and Children Service Centres and 62 One Stop Crisis Centres.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what (a) representations she has made to the Bangladeshi Government and (b) assessment she has made on the effect of telecommunications restrictions in refugee camps in Bangladesh on work to reduce covid-19 infection rates in those camps.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Through Ministers and the British High Commission in Dhaka, we continue to raise the issue of telecommunications restrictions in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camps in Bangladesh with representatives of the Government of Bangladesh.
Restrictions on 3G and 4G communications in the Rohingya camps are severely hindering COVID-19 preparedness. There are currently no reported cases of COVID-19 in the refugee camps in Bangladesh; however, these restrictions limit the ability of agencies to share information with the refugees and with each other; and for the Rohingya to self-organise. Good communications are critical for preparedness, surveillance, response, delivering critical services, and for maintaining stability in the camps.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the UN's warning that Gaza may be unlivable by 2020, what steps he is taking to tackle the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK remains deeply concerned by the situation in Gaza. In 2019/20 DFID will provide £16 million in humanitarian assistance to Gaza, which will help support the health system, including improved trauma care, and contribute to emergency food aid for around 1.2 million vulnerable people.
To help address the underlying causes of the humanitarian situation we are investing to build the capacity of Gaza’s water and energy services and to address barriers to trade. Ultimately, Gaza’s immense challenges can only be resolved with a political solution that delivers peace, stability and the easing of movement and access restrictions.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps her Department has taken to ensure that (a) food, (b) fuel and (c) medical supplies reach hard to access parts of Yemen.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK has played a leading role in helping secure vital access for food, fuel, and medicine into and throughout Yemen. Last year when Red Sea port access was restricted after a Houthi ballistic missile attack on Riyadh’s civilian airport, UK diplomacy including a visit from the Secretary of State for Development to Riyadh led to the ports being fully reopened. As a part of this effort, the UK provides £1.3 million to the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism to give the Coalition confidence that weapons are not coming in to Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on commercial ships. Red Sea ports remain fully operational and continue to import most of the food and fuel on which Yemenis rely.
As we have consistently made clear, the Houthis must facilitate access throughout areas they control which is where most of the population live. As penholder on Yemen in the UN Security Council, the UK continues to call on all parties to comply with the UNSC Presidential Statements of June 2017 and March 2018, which insist that all parties facilitate safe, rapid, and unhindered access for both the humanitarian response and commercial supplies.
On 3 April, the UK announced an additional £170 million in response to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen for this financial year (2018/2019). This funding will meet immediate food needs for 2.5 million Yemenis - as well as providing fuel and medical supplies across the country - and brings the total UK bilateral support to Yemen to over £570 million since 2015.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding her Department has allocated to tackle the cholera outbreak in Yemen.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK contributed 25% of the costs of the first ever cholera vaccination campaigns in Yemen early this year, through our funding to the Global Vaccines Alliance. This has helped to protect nearly a million men, women and children.
Last year, we provided over £8 million in targeted cholera support to UNICEF and the International Organization for Migration. This support aimed to provide medical supplies to half a million people, safe access to chlorinated water to 300,000 people, and rehabilitate medical facilities used by 250,000 people.
In addition, the UK’s overall £170 million in aid to Yemen this financial year (2018/19) is tackling the underlying causes of cholera by helping provide emergency food, nutrition support, and clean water and sanitation to millions of people.