Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions he has had with the Prime Minister on the merger of his Department and the Department for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Prime Minister discussed the merger with both Secretaries of State ahead of his announcement in the House.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to support improved (a) healthcare and (b) delivery of healthcare services to indigenous women in Brazil.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Prosperity Fund’s Global Better Health Programme aims to strengthen the health system in Brazil through technical collaboration. In particular, the programme focuses on addressing the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer; and driving improvements in quality of care to reduce infection, injury or premature death. This will directly benefit women and poorer groups who are often particularly affected as a result of these health challenges. The programme in Brazil is currently in the inception stage, as part of which we will consider with our country partners the likely impact of the programme on different demographic groups such as indigenous women.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment his Department has made of the humanitarian situation in north east Syria.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The situation in Northeast Syria remains very fluid, and we are continually adjusting our assessment of the current impact on the humanitarian situation in the region at this stage. Prior to the recent military action, there were already 1.65 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in the region. The UN reports at least 170,000 people have been displaced since the Turkish military action began, including at least 70,000 children. Critical civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, has also been affected by the conflict. The ongoing military action on the ground is also impacting the humanitarian response. Many NGOs have already had to withdraw staff, and some have suspended activities altogether. This is very concerning, and we are discussing closely with our NGO partners and the UN. The Secretary of State has been in contact with Sir Mark Lowcock, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, to identify any gaps in the humanitarian response, and ensure those affected by the situation in Northeast Syria are getting the support they need.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World's report which found that global hunger has increased for the fourth year, what steps the Government is taking to (a) tackle global hunger and (b) achieve the Sustainable Development Goal Two.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report shows that without significantly increased efforts the world will fall far short of achieving the target of eradicating hunger by 2030. The UK is playing its part to ending hunger and undernutrition through its substantial portfolio of humanitarian support and longer-term responses to tackling chronic hunger and supporting food security by transforming agriculture. We are aware that the international community needs to do more. We are discussing opportunities for scaled-up and improved global interventions, including the German-initiated proposal for a SDG2 moment in 2020, and are supporting the Government of Japan in its preparations for the 2020 Nutrition for Growth Summit.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the recent State of the World Food Security and Nutrition report findings that global hunger has increased for the fourth year running, what steps the Government is taking to (a) help end this trend and (b) help ensure that sustainable development goal two is achieved.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The UK is playing its part in ending hunger and undernutrition through a substantial portfolio of agricultural and other economic development programmes, nutrition, agricultural research, social safety nets, resilience and humanitarian response interventions; through DFID’s bilateral programmes as well as support to multilateral institutions. But we are aware that more needs to be done if we are to end hunger by 2030, and the new report confirms the urgency. This is why we are discussing opportunities with partners for scaled-up and improved global interventions, to help reverse the negative trend on global hunger, including the German-initiated proposal for a major SDG2 moment in 2020.