Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she is taking steps to use the expertise and infrastructure established under (a) the IAVI organisation and (b) other Product Development Partnerships to expedite the development and roll-out of a covid-19 vaccine to (i) vulnerable groups in low- and middle-income countries and (ii) other people.
Answered by James Duddridge
DFID is working to maximise the development of and roll out of an effective COVID-19 vaccine that is affordable and accessible to low- and middle- income countries. The Prime Minister recently announced an additional £210 million of new UK aid funding to the International Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to help develop a vaccine for COVID-19. The UK is now the biggest contributor to CEPI, committing £250 million this year to support the global effort to fight epidemic diseases, including coronavirus. DFID is currently exploring with existing partners, including IAVI and other Product Development Partnerships, on how they too might contribute to our efforts to combat COVID-19.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the Sustainable Development Goals, what steps he is taking to maintain levels of investment in nutrition.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK Government has been a global leader on nutrition since we hosted the first Nutrition for Growth Summit in 2013.
Earlier this month the Secretary of State for International Development committed to prioritise ending preventable deaths of mothers, new-born babies and children in the developing world by 2030. Addressing malnutrition is critical and central to this ambition. Improving nutrition in developing countries is also key for achieving at least 12 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Since 2015 DFID has reached 60 million women, adolescent girls and young children with nutrition services – including lifesaving treatment for child wasting, support for breastfeeding and new crop varieties that are rich in essential nutrients.
We are working with the Government of Japan to help prepare for the Nutrition for Growth Summit in December 2020. The Summit will be an important opportunity to set the world on the path towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal target to end malnutrition in all its forms by 2030.
We will be looking closely over the coming months at what further commitment the UK can make at the 2020 Summit to contribute to this important goal.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps he is taking to ensure that nutrition is included in the UK’s commitment to Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK is the largest donor to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, committing £1.44 billion between 2016 and 2020. This support will vaccinate 76 million additional children by 2020, saving 1.4 million lives from vaccine-preventable diseases in 68 of the world’s poorest countries. The UK will host the pledging conference for Gavi in June 2020.
DFID support to Gavi includes a wider package of health care support designed to strengthen and integrate services. Immunisation is often a child’s first point of contact with their health service. It creates an opportunity where malnourished children can be identified and treated. Vaccines can also prevent some of the infectious diseases and causes of malnutrition.
The UK is committed to investment in the integration of nutrition within other sectors, including health. We have championed efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage by bringing together initiatives on health security, antimicrobial resistance, and nutrition, into a single Universal Health Coverage approach.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to integrate nutrition into its health programmes in Ethiopia.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK is a leading donor supporting the Government of Ethiopia to integrate nutrition into health programmes in Ethiopia.
Under the Accelerating Reduction of Undernutrition in Ethiopia programme (£49m, 2013-2018), we supported the transition of service delivery for nutrition screening, Vitamin A supplementation and deworming from resource-intensive donor-financed campaign-based delivery, into fully government funded routine service delivery in the four regions with the highest rates of stunting in Ethiopia.
DFID continues to support the Government of Ethiopia in delivering nutrition programmes as part of routine heath service delivery. Currently the Sustaining and Accelerating Primary Health in Ethiopia programme (£250m,2015-2020) is supporting the first 1000+ days nutrition initiative, the provision of micronutrient supplies and implementation of the Seqota declaration. This aims to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture in the worst affected parts of the country. Our Building Resilience in Ethiopia Programme (£262m, 2017-2022) is also working to respond to nutrition emergencies, reducing reliance on parallel humanitarian response.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that his Department's education programmes include objectives on nutrition.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Helping poor countries provide 12 years of good quality education, particularly for girls, is a top priority for this Government. When children get all the basic nutrients they need in the first 1000 days of life, they do better in school and earn more as adults.
DFID’s 2018 education policy commits us to delivering early education and nutrition interventions together, where possible. We are pursuing this by building the evidence base through the new ‘Thrive’ early childhood development research programme and through investments in early education in Rwanda and our funding to the Global Partnership for Education.
The UK Government is a global leader on nutrition; we have reached 60.3 million people with nutrition services in 25 countries since 2015.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department will take to ensure the implementation of the political declaration of the UN High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage across its investments in health and human development.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Strengthening health systems to deliver Universal Health Coverage is a priority for the UK. Our support for implementation of the political declaration includes funding to the World Health Organisation to assist countries to develop Universal Health Coverage country plans and the health financing strategies needed to meet the commitment to increase public spending on health, with an emphasis on primary health care. Our announcement at the UN General Assembly of £600m to buy family planning supplies will provide access to family planning for 20 million women and girls each year up to 2025. This programme will support countries to meet the commitment to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she plans to attend the Gavi mid-term review meeting in Abu Dhabi in December 2018.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK is fully committed to supporting Gavi and saving children’s lives through increasing access to vaccines in lower income countries. Since 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise 690 million children, preventing more than 10 million deaths. We see Gavi’s Mid-Term Review meeting as a crucial opportunity to celebrate Gavi’s extraordinary work, whilst also critically assessing how it can make even further progress in improving access to lifesaving vaccines for the world’s most vulnerable people.
Regretfully, diary pressures mean Ministers are unavailable to attend the meeting. However, senior officials from the Department for International Development will be attending and will ensure strong UK representation in these vital discussions.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department for International Development:
What steps she is taking to ensure that private contractors funded through Official Development Assistance are scrutinised and managed effectively.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The reform plan announced in October sets out measures to ensure DFID has assurance of ethical behaviour and value for money along all our supply chains. DFID are encouraging other government departments and devolved administrations who spend ODA to adopt a similarly robust approach with their own suppliers.