Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what representations the Government has made to the Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom on the closure of humanitarian international NGOs in that country.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are very concerned that the Nigerian Military has closed the offices of Action Against Hunger and Mercy Corps in North East Nigeria. We have not raised the issue directly with the Nigerian High Commissioner in London instead focusing our engagement directly with the Federal government in Nigeria. We have urged the Government of Nigeria in Abuja to follow due process with the relevant judicial authorities to allow an impartial hearing in accordance with Nigerian Law and to enable the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what representations the Government has made to the United Nations on the expulsion of humanitarian international NGOs operating in in North-East Nigeria.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are concerned that the Nigerian Military has closed the offices of Action Against Hunger and Mercy Corps in North East Nigeria. We have raised our concerns with the Head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Nigeria and with our partners and are directly discussing this with senior leaders in the UN at a global level. We welcome the efforts of the UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator for Nigeria to push for a resolution to the dispute and for closer collaboration between the UN and Government of Nigeria.
Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the humanitarian situation in North-East Nigeria of the closure of international NGO operations in that country.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are very concerned that the Nigerian Army has closed the offices of Action against Hunger and Mercy Corps in North East Nigeria.
NGOs in the North East of Nigeria, including Action Against Hunger and Mercy Corps, provide millions of people with crucial, life-saving assistance. When these organisations are forced to withdraw it has a huge impact on the lives of the most vulnerable. We have urged the Government of Nigeria to complete their investigations swiftly to resolve the dispute and to enable the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian assistance. We must ensure unimpeded access for people in need in line with International Humanitarian Law.
Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
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 children in Kenya have access to high quality education.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As one of the largest donors to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), DFID is helping to ensure that children in Kenya have access to high quality education. GPE supports the Government of Kenya to develop national education sector plans, improve early grade mathematics and strengthen school management systems. Through UK support to the Girls’ Education Challenge, we are also improving learning opportunities and outcomes for Kenya’s most marginalised girls.
In partnership with the Kenyan Ministry of Education in 2015, DFID provided funding to rigorously test a new structured approach to early grade teaching. The approach helped teachers better meet the needs of all students, provided continual coaching and monitoring, and improved teaching materials. The Kenyan Government scaled the approach nationwide. Independent research shows this reform led to the percentage of grade two children meeting learning benchmarks in English rising from 34% to 65%.
Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps he is taking to ensure that girls in Kenya who become pregnant are able to re-enter education.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
DFID is helping to improve life opportunities and learning outcomes for the most vulnerable girls in Kenya including those who are pregnant, through our £154 million Girls Education Challenge (GEC) programme. Through investments in catch up classes, financial assistance, and support for life skills and confidence building, GEC is supporting girls who are pregnant and young mothers, to re-enter education.
Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions he has had with the Kenyan Government on the implementation of the National Re-entry Guidelines for Learners in Basic Education.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Secretary of State has not yet had the opportunity to meet representatives of the Kenyan Government.
DFID officials continue to discuss the importance of inclusive education with senior representatives at the Ministry of Education, although DFID has not been consulted on the draft National Re-entry Guidelines for Learners in Basic Education. DFID support through the Global Partnership for Education and the Girls’ Education Challenge Fund helps to improve access to education and learning for the most vulnerable children, including support for re-entry.
Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps he is taking to encourage donors to fulfil the pledges they have made to the United Nations-led humanitarian response in Yemen.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK has brought forward funding from our £200 million aid pledge to Yemen this year and has already provided 87% of the funding we pledged to UN agencies.
The UK continues to engage with donor countries at every opportunity to ensure they rapidly disburse funding to the UN humanitarian response in Yemen.
I most recently did this during my visit to the Gulf region from 25-29 August, where I discussed the issue with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
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 impact of the recent escalation of military activity in Aden, Yemen.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK is monitoring the humanitarian impact felt in the south of Yemen.
The UN has so far verified 13 civilian deaths and 70 civilian injuries since fighting escalated, and has reported over 1,600 families and 1,000 individuals have been displaced to northern governates in August.
Major overland routes in the south have closed and a backlog of 15,000 containers in Aden port is waiting to be processed. This is affecting the delivery of commercial goods and humanitarian services, including challenges for UN agencies transferring goods between Aden and the north.
The UK regularly raises humanitarian concerns with all parties to the conflict, calling on them to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2451 and facilitate safe, rapid, and unhindered access for humanitarian and commercial supplies, including through Aden Port.
Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access for humanitarian supplies from the port of Aden, Yemen.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK tracks Yemen’s imports and ports to monitor trends and predict pressure points in humanitarian supplies.
Although Aden port remains operational, we are concerned by a backlog of 15,000 containers waiting to be processed. Fighting across the south of the country has also closed many major overland routes, affecting the onward delivery of commercial goods and humanitarian services.
The UK regularly raises humanitarian concerns with all parties to the conflict, calling on them to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2451 and to facilitate safe, rapid and unhindered access for humanitarian and commercial supplies, including through Aden port and onward movement across the country.
Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the merits of a Global Plan of Action for Education as called for by UNESCO in its report of July 2019 entitled meeting commitments: are countries on track to achieve SDG 4; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The recommendations in UNESCO’s report of July 2019: Meeting commitments: are countries on track to achieve SDG 4 align well with DFID’s education policy: Get Children Learning and the work the UK is supporting in such areas as learning measurement, education financing, research and policy dialogue. We welcome UNESCO’s report and look forward to hearing more about suggestions for a Global Plan of Action for Education.