Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the global effort to eradicate polio.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted essential health services worldwide. Polio eradication is no exception and polio vaccination campaigns were paused in order to ensure the safety of health workers and communities.
During this pause, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has pivoted effectively to respond to COVID-19. It has provided personal protective equipment, trained health workers, contributed to COVID-19 surveillance, and informed communities on prevention measures. This is a clear example of how the UK’s investment in the polio programme strengthens global health security systems more broadly.
GPEI has resumed vaccination campaigns in Africa and is due to start in Asia in the coming weeks. Two million children in Afghanistan and Pakistan are due to receive polio vaccines next week [20th July].
As a result of the pandemic, there is an increased risk of polio and other infectious disease outbreaks. As such, support for GPEI is more critical than ever. The UK is fully committed to polio eradication.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what guidance she has issued to her Department's country offices on the continuation of programmes treating and preventing child malnutrition during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Prevention and treatment of malnutrition remains a priority for the UK as part of our commitment to end the preventable deaths of mothers, new-borns and children. Malnutrition undermines immune function putting children at greater risk of getting sick and dying. The indirect impacts of COVID-19 are expected to increase acute malnutrition by at least 10% resulting in at least an additional 90,000 child deaths. DFID teams have been provided with practical guidance on how to address malnutrition during the pandemic. This emphasises the need to maintain services to treat malnutrition and to support safe infant and young child feeding. It also emphasises the importance of social protection to help the poorest access nutritious foods and the need to protect the production and supply of nutritious foods.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans his Department has to help support increased resilience to global health pandemics in (a) low and (b) middle income countries.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Global health security is underpinned by strong national health systems and international cooperation. The UK is helping low and middle-income countries through building strong and resilient health systems, which are well prepared and can protect people from health threats, including potential pandemic diseases. The UK is a top donor to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Health Emergencies Programme, which leads the WHO's work on supporting the world to prevent, detect and respond to disease outbreaks. We also fund the Tackling Deadly Diseases in Africa programme, the International Health Regulations Strengthening Project, delivered by Public Health England, and the UK Emergency Medical Team to train and deploy emergency response personnel to urgently respond to humanitarian emergencies. The UK also invests significantly in new technology, products and research for disease control, prevention and treatment.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Official Development Assistance he plans to allocate to Bangladesh in the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the last five years the UK has spent £832.5 million on the DFID programme in Bangladesh. This has contributed to significant development achievements. Since 2015 UK aid has helped 1.5 million children to gain a decent education and 900 thousand people to access clean water and better sanitation. It has also provided lifesaving humanitarian support to around 800,000 Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, particularly since the significant influx in August 2017.
Official budgets for financial year 20/21, approved by Ministers, will be published in DFID’s 2019/20 Annual Accounts and Report later this year.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Official Development Assistance was allocated to Bangladesh in the last five years; what assessment he has made of the adequacy of ODA provided to that country; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the last five years the UK has spent £832.5 million on the DFID programme in Bangladesh. This has contributed to significant development achievements. Since 2015 UK aid has helped 1.5 million children to gain a decent education and 900 thousand people to access clean water and better sanitation. It has also provided lifesaving humanitarian support to around 800,000 Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, particularly since the significant influx in August 2017.
Official budgets for financial year 20/21, approved by Ministers, will be published in DFID’s 2019/20 Annual Accounts and Report later this year.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to support the delivery of health improvements in Africa.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK is a leading global health actor, supporting improved health outcomes across Africa. We work in partnership with African states, civil society and multilaterals to end preventable deaths of mothers, new-born babies and children by 2030.
Averting preventable deaths and supporting Universal Health Coverage is the overarching goal of all UK health investments. Our priorities include: strengthening health systems; tackling specific health challenges (such as malnutrition, polio and neglected tropical diseases); leading efforts towards the manifesto commitment of ending the malaria epidemic; and supporting global health security.
The UK is the world’s second largest bilateral donor on family planning - the Women’s Integrated Sexual Health programme alone works to prevent 24,000 maternal deaths, including in 24 African countries; the UK is also the second largest government funder of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. In 2018 the Global Fund, which disbursed 72% of its funding in sub-Saharan Africa, helped provide 18.9 million people with antiretroviral therapy for HIV; test and treat 5.3 million people for TB; and distribute 131 million mosquito nets to protect families from malaria. Our £1.44 billion support to Gavi (2016-2020) will vaccinate an additional 76 million children and save 1.4 million lives in 68 of the world’s poorest countries.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans he has to help support nursing provision in low and middle-income countries.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Health workers, including nurses, are essential to build strong health systems and achieve universal health coverage. DFID will support nursing provision through our new health partnerships programme, which includes £5 million of grants to train and upskill nurses and midwives specifically. DFID also assists countries to invest in their health workers to improve health services. For example, we have supported over 7,000 nurses and midwives in Kenya to be trained in emergency obstetric and new-born care which has led to a 10% reduction in maternal deaths.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans she has to support the training of mental health professionals in low and middle income countries.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
In DFID's Disability Inclusion Strategy published last December, we committed to step up our work on mental health. We are taking a comprehensive and rights-based approach that promotes well-being for all, including those with psychosocial disabilities. We also work to strengthen health systems so that countries are able to meet the health needs of their population and improve the provision, equity and quality of mental health services, including building health worker capacity. In February 2019 DFID announced its support for the largest country roll-out of WHO’s Quality Rights initiative in Ghana, which delivers training among health and non-health professionals to improve quality of care across all mental health services.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans she has to ensure that medicines and dugs are developed by the pharmaceutical industry for people in low and middle income countries with TB.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK Government is a global leader in Research and Development for TB, and one of the largest funders of TB research worldwide. Increasing access to medicines and diagnostics in low income countries is a priority for DFID especially for diseases like TB
DFID is a leading supporter of Product Development Partnerships (PDPs), bringing together the strengths of academia and the pharmaceutical industry, in public-private partnerships to develop new therapies and diagnostics for diseases of poverty. With these partnerships new products can to be developed for public health needs, de-linking the cost of research and development from the cost of the final product.
As part of this effort we are investing £37.5m in the TB Alliance for the development of new drug regimens, particularly where current treatments are failing due to antimicrobial resistance. This includes an additional £7.5m, announced by the Secretary of State for International Development at the UNGA 2018 High Level Meeting on TB.
The UK Government also supports applied health research relevant to TB service delivery, through a number of partnerships with other UK and global funders.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to improve mental health provision in low and middle income countries.
Answered by Alistair Burt
DFID is committed to taking a comprehensive and rights-based approach to mental health in low and middle-income countries.
Our Disability Inclusion Strategy sets out how UK Aid will step up its work to promote well-being, increase access to integrated, quality mental health services, and facilitate recovery, empowerment and societal inclusion for people with mental health conditions and psychosocial disabilities.
In Ghana, DFID’s Health Sector Support Programme has supported the integration of quality mental health into broader health systems and addressed stigma and discrimination. DFID’s Improving Mental Health Care programme is generating world-leading evidence on integrating effective mental health care services into primary care in Ethiopia, India, Nepal, South Africa and Uganda. DFID’s support to the Disability Rights Fund, enables organisations led by people with psychosocial disabilities to champion their rights.