Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 15th June to Question 57377, (a) what percentage of the £764 million of UK AID is going to UN agencies and WHO, and (b) which countries have so far benefitted from UK AID funding to combat covid-19.
Answered by Wendy Morton
We have committed up to £764 million of UK Aid to combat COVID-19 and reinforce the global effort to find a vaccine. We are using UK aid to its full effect to counter the health, humanitarian, and economic risks and impact of this pandemic in the developing world.
The UK has committed £145 million, roughly 19% of the £764 million, to the UN Global Humanitarian Response Plan. Details of which countries are included in the GHRP can be found here.
We have also adapted over one hundred existing bilateral health and humanitarian programmes, and close to two hundred existing social protection, economic, governance, conflict and other programmes, across 35 countries and regions relevant to the COVID-19 response.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 15th June to Question 57377, (a) how much UK aid to combat covid-19 has been allocated to the Democratic Republic of Congo; and (b) what percentage of UK aid designated to combat covid-19-19 in DRC is allocated to UN agencies and WHO.
Answered by James Duddridge
At the forefront of global efforts to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak, the UK has provided £764 million of UK aid toward ending the pandemic as quickly as possible. This includes funding to vulnerable countries, like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and to global organisations like the WHO, and investment in rapid diagnostics and vaccines.
Within DRC, UK programmes are supporting health facilities to respond to the virus and support the most vulnerable to maintain access to food. Existing humanitarian, health and economic development programmes are also addressing needs arising from the impact of COVID-19. This includes support to UNICEF.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, following lessons learned during the recent West Africa Ebola epidemic, how is the UK Government working with faith leaders in developing countries to maximise the effectiveness of the covid-19 response.
Answered by Nigel Adams
I recognise both the important place that religious belief has for many people around the world affected by COVID-19 and the role that faith leaders are playing in the response.
The Ebola Crisis has shown that faith groups are amongst the first to respond and can play an effective role in the behaviour change essential to slow the spread, reduce infection, illness and death of epidemics.
Faith groups are key policy and delivery partners for DFID. We are committed to working with and alongside faith-based actors to meet the challenges posed to both the UK and internationally by COVID-19.
DFID is taking forward a structured approach to working with UK and international civil society organisations, including faith-based actors. This is incorporating strategic and technical discussions to help inform the sector’s response to the pandemic. Specifically, Baroness Sugg has chaired round table discussions with the Chief Executive Officers from key civil society organisations, including faith-based organisations. This has been to update the sector on DFID’s COVID-19 response to date, engage with concerns across the sector, and explore how to mitigate the threats posed by COVID-19 to sector resilience.
Lord Ahmad also hosted a round table with faith leaders and faith-based development organisations on 8 June to discuss how we can work together more effectively on the response to COVID-19.
DFID has pledged new funding for civil society organisations, including faith-based organisations, to support the response. This includes £20 million through the Rapid Response Facility, which includes funding for Christian Aid; up to £30 million of new grants through the next round of the UK Aid Direct programme, and significant funding through the DFID Unilever COVID-19 Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition.
Faith-based organisations can receive funding through multilateral organisations, as downstream partners as part of the UK’s response, and through our country office network.
We have been reviewing our programme portfolio in light of the COVID-19 response, enabling us to identify existing activities which can already support the response and others that can be adapted or scaled up, such as our support to health systems and humanitarian crises.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of the merger of her Department with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government will implement these changes in the most cost effective way possible. While we anticipate there may be cost savings in the long term as a result of using our resources more effectively and efficiently, it is not the primary goal of the merger of these two Departments. This is primarily about bringing together our international efforts so we can maximise the UK’s influence around the world. By aligning our efforts, the merger will maximise our influence and expertise and ensure we are in the best position to confront the challenges that lie ahead. This will strengthen our ability to lead the world’s efforts to recover from the coronavirus pandemic and allow us to seize the opportunities ahead, as we prepare to take on the G7 presidency and host COP26 next year.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of the merger of her Department with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the number of staff employed by her Department.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of the merger of her Department with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the number of staff employed by her Department in East Kilbride.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Merging the departments will bring together the best of what we do in aid and diplomacy, and create new opportunities for staff. There are no plans to close DFID’s office in Scotland, where staff play a vital role in ensuring UK aid delivers results for the world’s poorest and represents value for money for UK taxpayers.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support developing countries to increase the number of ventilators available during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK is at the forefront of the global response to COVID-19. We are using UK aid to its full effect to counter the health, humanitarian, and economic risks and impact of this pandemic in the developing world. We have committed up to £764 million of UK Aid to combat COVID-19 and reinforce the global effort to find a vaccine.
Our funding is supporting a range of initiatives and partners to ensure it can reach those who need it the most. This includes £75 million for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to help lead international efforts to stop the spread of the virus and access critical medical supplies; £55 million to International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement appeals to provide medical supplies and equipment to hospitals and clinics, and build quarantine areas and disinfection facilities; and a range of support to NGOs.
The WHO and UNICEF are working with governments to identify requirements and ensure that supplies, including the critical medical equipment for oxygen therapy, reach those in need.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which charities and NGOs have received Official Development Assistance to help tackle covid-19 in the global south; what funding each of those charities and NGOs received; and what facility they received it through.
Answered by Wendy Morton
NGOs are key policy and delivery partners for DFID and we are committed to working with the sector to meet the challenges posed by COVID-19. CSOs including NGOs and charities deliver roughly one quarter of DFID programmes around the world. A total of 40 charities and NGOs are receiving funding from the Department for International Development’s (DFID) £20 million humanitarian support package, announced in April, or the £100 million global hygiene partnership with Unilever, unveiled in March.
DFID is providing £24.4 million as part of our Unilever partnership to Action Aid, The African Medical and Research Foundation, PSI, Save the Children, Oxfam, WaterAid, International Rescue Committee, World Vision, Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor.
Through DFID’s Rapid Response Facility, £18 million of DFID funding is supporting Action Against Hunger, CARE, Christian Aid, GOAL, Humanity & Inclusion and Norwegian Refugee Council to provide healthcare, water and sanitation, food and shelter to meet the basic needs of some of the world’s most vulnerable people during the COVID-19 crisis.
Through the Humanitarian 2 Humanitarian network and its host Danish Refugee Council, £2 million of DFID funding will support 14 partners to manage information on the virus and share this with global partners, and to communicate facts to communities across Africa, the Middle East and beyond. These partners are: Fondation Hirondelle, Ground Truth Solutions, the New Humanitarian, CDAC Network, ACAPS, CartONG, Humanitarian OpenStreetMap, Map Action, Evidence Aid, Sphere, Red R UK, Humanitarian Academy for Development, Atlas Logistique and Insecurity Insight.
In country a significant proportion of existing DFID programmes are implemented directly through NGO partners and we expect NGOs will play a significant role in our country level COVID response. Many NGOs will also receive funding as part of DFID’s significant investment in the multilateral response to COVID-19. Collating the full list of organisations in receipt of funding for COVID-19 work from existing programmes or as downstream partners would take a disproportionate amount of time to extract.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
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 individual country offices since March 2020 to support the covid-19 response; and what proportion of that additional funding has been allocated to (a) local and (b) international NGOs, by country.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Since March 2020 there have been no additional budget allocations to individual country offices, but we have adapted over one hundred existing bilateral health and humanitarian programmes, and close to two hundred existing social protection, economic, governance, conflict and other programmes, across 35 countries and regions relevant to the COVID-19 response. For some programmes this included moving funding from programme components less relevant to the COVID-19 response to increase funding to those that are most in need. Many of these programmes are delivered in part or wholly through NGOs.
We have committed up to £764 million of UK aid to combat COVID-19 and to reinforce the global effort to find a vaccine. £296 million of this has been provided to support the global health response and vulnerable countries. This includes support to UK charities and international organisations to help reduce mass infections in developing countries.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the purpose is of the £65 million of UK aid that has been allocated to tackle the covid-19 pandemic through the World Health Organization; when that funding will be spent; how that funding will be spent; and what guidance she has (a) issued and (b) received on the proportion of that funding which will be allocated to NGOs and civil society organisations.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK is a key donor to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and have already contributed £75 million to help the organisation lead international efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 and end the pandemic, including: global coordination; planning for country level preparedness and response; global procurement and supply; the science and research and development agenda; and communications. This £75 million is going towards the WHO’s COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) and includes £10 million to the flash WHO appeal announced in February and March 2020 and a further £65 million for the SPRP was announced in April 2020. The SPRP outlines the public health measures that need to be taken to support countries to prepare for and respond to COVID-19. Funding that is provided to countries is allocated to NGOs when and as needed based on the individual country context. This funding will be spent this calendar year. The UK’s funding for the WHO is based on our assessment of the organisation’s needs and we continue to keep this under review.
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisations are key partners for DFID in responding to the unprecedented challenges arising from COVID-19. We know that in many places NGOs will be best placed to meet the needs of those most vulnerable and at risk. CSO including NGOs and charities deliver roughly one quarter of DFID programmes around the world. A total of 40 charities and NGOs will receive funding from DFID’s £20 million humanitarian support package or the £100 million global hygiene partnership with Unilever. NGOs are also receiving £24 million of extra funding through the DFID COVID-19 Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition.