Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to progress its work on ending child marriage after the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains resolute in our commitment to end child marriage, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. The UK’s Strategic Vision on Gender Equality is clear on this.
Through our flagship investments, DFID committed a total of £39 million over 5 years (2015-2020) to support international efforts to end child marriage, in 12 high prevalence countries across the world. Since 2015 the programme has reached over 7.7 million girls with schooling initiatives, skills training and girls’ clubs to prevent and respond to child marriage.
This programme is now adapting to respond to COVID-19 by strengthening national child helplines and the social welfare workforce and raising awareness on child marriage risks.
DFID also tackles child marriage through a range of other programmes, including on women and girls’ empowerment and girls’ education. Making progress on ending child marriage will remain a key focus through and beyond COVID-19, including as part of our work to deliver the Prime Minister’s commitment to champion 12 years of quality education for girls.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to integrate its policy on (a) mental health support, (b) psychosocial support and (c) child protection in its response to the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on children.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to supporting vulnerable populations during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, including children. We have committed £296 million to support the global health response and vulnerable countries, including £145 million to UN appeals. This includes £20 million to UNICEF to support essential social services for children, women and vulnerable populations, including child protection, and £5 million to Education Cannot Wait to support children in crisis settings while they are out of school including mental health and psycho-social support (MHPSS) interventions.
DFID’s country programmes supporting vulnerable children have also adapted to Covid-19, including in Ethiopia where we have provided an additional £5 million to UNICEF to support the provision of MHPSS services to affected children and families.
DFID will be publishing a new Position Paper and Theory of Change on mental health to act as a global tool for Covid-19 responses. This has been developed in consultation with the mental health sector and provides practical advice for DFID and the sector as to how to support those with mental health and psychosocial disabilities.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on her Department's humanitarian work in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Answered by James Duddridge
In June 2020, the UN published revised estimates that 25.6 million people are now in need of humanitarian assistance in DRC, an increase from the previous estimate of 15.6 million. This increase is primarily due to the impact of COVID-19 on food security and the already fragile healthcare system. In addition, access challenges, disruption to supply chains, and increased insecurity will continue to exacerbate humanitarian needs.
The UK is continuing to respond at scale to meet urgent humanitarian needs and has adapted our programmes to reduce the risk of, and respond to, COVID-19 transmission.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to (a) assess and tackle the increased risk of child labour as a result of the covid-19 pandemic and (b) ensure its covid-19 response prioritises the protection of children.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
DFID is working as quickly as possible to assess and respond to the unprecedented challenges arising from COVID-19 and provide support to vulnerable populations most at risk, especially children.
We are working closely with delivery partners on the ground to adapt our programmes to support vulnerable communities impacted by COVID-19. We continue to push for coordinated action to tackle modern slavery and human trafficking at the international level to mitigate the primary and secondary impacts of the pandemic.
For example, through the £26 million Asia Regional Child Labour Programme, UNICEF is identifying and tracking vulnerable children in India and Pakistan and linking them to social protection systems. They are also supporting governments and local communities with psychosocial support services, hygiene activities and efforts to reduce stigma.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on her Department's support for the Rohingya refugees.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the Rohingya refugee camps. From the start of the crisis, DFID has worked with partners to help mitigate the impact of the virus on the Rohingya refugees and host communities in Cox’s Bazar. Our existing work has been adapted to respond to the crisis. UK funding has helped to establish isolation and treatment centres, such as a 60-bed facility, to treat severe and critical cases, as well as the delivery of home-based healthcare and monitoring. We are supporting WHO to coordinate the health response with the Government. Our funding is also distributing soap and building more handwashing structures; and producing and rolling out a range of communication tools to share vital information.
While we have prioritised budget and activities to focus on the immediate impact of COVID-19, we continue to deliver our routine support comprising providing food and nutrition, shelter, health, protection, water and sanitation, targeted support for women and girls, and the elderly. We also fund the education sector which – while learning centres are closed - is supporting caregivers for learning at home and preparing for the Myanmar curriculum pilot rollout.
Whilst every effort is being made to minimise transmission in the camps, the highly congested conditions and vulnerability of the population will pose major challenges when cases reach peak levels. We will continue to work closely with our implementing partners and the humanitarian community in Cox’s Bazar to respond as best as possible.
We remain committed in our support of Rohingya refugees in both Bangladesh and Myanmar. The Development Secretary has recently undertaken a virtual visit to Bangladesh and had the opportunity to see the continued humanitarian needs of the Rohingya. She stressed the UK’s continued commitment to helping Bangladesh and the refugees the country is hosting.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the trade unions of the Department for International Development staff members (a) were consulted before the merger between those departments announcement and (b) will be consulted as part of the merger process.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
There was no formal consultation with our trade unions (PCS and FDA) prior to this decision being made. We have now commenced discussions and they will have a key role to play as we develop the new organisation.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how the staff of the Department for International Development were notified of (a) the merger between that department and his Department and the (b) implications for their jobs of that merger.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
It is an important principle that announcement of a change such as this should be made by the PM in Parliament first. Staff were informed straight after the announcement. We will work closely with staff throughout the process of implementing the merger. Merging the departments will bring together the best of what we do in aid and diplomacy, and create new opportunities for staff. The ambition, vision and expertise of DFID staff will be at the heart of the new department – taking forward the work of UK aid, which will remain central to our mission. There will be no compulsory redundancies.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if the Government will support the ACT Accelerator and its grantees to work with the World Health Organisation’s Covid-19 Technology Access Pool.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has welcomed the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator since its launch on 24 April 2020. We look forward to further engagement with this collaborative initiative and continue to support the work done under the ACT Accelerator to develop new vaccines, treatments and tests, and to accelerate global access?to these essential health technologies for?everyone. The UK has also long supported affordable and equitable access to essential medicines through our funding. We have committed over £313 million of UK aid to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the?COVID-19?Therapeutics Accelerator and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), supporting equitable access to COVID-19 medical technologies.
We are seeking additional detail from the World Health Organisation on how the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) will fit into the wider global governance for development of COVID-19 medical technologies (including the ACT-Accelerator). The UK supports the work of the Medicines Patent Pool as an existing mechanism to facilitate pooling and IP sharing. We remain committed to collaborating with public and private partners on additional arrangements to support equitable and affordable access, including options for non-exclusive voluntary licensing. We believe that a voluntary approach to intellectual property has advantages over mandatory approaches, and creates a sounder basis for long-lasting, beneficial relationships, and incentives to create new much-needed innovations.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what additional budget allocations her Department has made to programmes in Cox’s Bazar to (a) support the covid-19 response and (b) maintain and expand gender-based violence services in light of the prevalence of gender-based violence in the camps.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK has provided an initial £11 million to support COVID-19 preparedness and response efforts in the Rohingya camps and surrounding host communities. This has been allocated to existing UN and Non-Governmental Organisation UK partners. It is also maintaining essential humanitarian services in the camps, such as shelter, food, registration and civil documentation, healthcare, water and sanitation, and hygiene.
Part of this funding is focused on ensuring critical gender-based violence (GBV) and child protection services keep operating for all those who need them. For example, the UK has provided an additional £400,000 to UNFPA for GBV services, including activities disseminating anti-GBV messaging and anti-GBV role modelling activities with adolescent boys and girls.
The Rohingya Refugee response in Cox’s Bazar district has been reduced to only critical services since 8 April. While women and girls’ safe spaces are not functioning as normal (to prevent the spread of the virus), all protection services including GBV services have continued throughout. DFID officials are collaborating with UN agencies on the provision and continuity of GBV services. UN agencies have worked closely with the Bangladesh government to prepare and respond to COVID-19 in the refugee camps and ensure vital and lifesaving operations are not jeopardised.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what representations she has made to (a) UN agencies and (b) the Government of Bangladesh to ensure that gender-based violence (GBV) services are designated as essential in order to allow for continuity of GBV service provision in Cox’s Bazar throughout the covid-19 response.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK has provided an initial £11 million to support COVID-19 preparedness and response efforts in the Rohingya camps and surrounding host communities. This has been allocated to existing UN and Non-Governmental Organisation UK partners. It is also maintaining essential humanitarian services in the camps, such as shelter, food, registration and civil documentation, healthcare, water and sanitation, and hygiene.
Part of this funding is focused on ensuring critical gender-based violence (GBV) and child protection services keep operating for all those who need them. For example, the UK has provided an additional £400,000 to UNFPA for GBV services, including activities disseminating anti-GBV messaging and anti-GBV role modelling activities with adolescent boys and girls.
The Rohingya Refugee response in Cox’s Bazar district has been reduced to only critical services since 8 April. While women and girls’ safe spaces are not functioning as normal (to prevent the spread of the virus), all protection services including GBV services have continued throughout. DFID officials are collaborating with UN agencies on the provision and continuity of GBV services. UN agencies have worked closely with the Bangladesh government to prepare and respond to COVID-19 in the refugee camps and ensure vital and lifesaving operations are not jeopardised.