Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is providing support to the (a) the Government of Malawi and (b) non-governmental organisations working in Malawi to help support their response to the outbreak of cholera in that country.

The UK is monitoring the worsening cholera outbreak in Malawi and has allocated £500,000 towards the Government of Malawi's response. This will contribute to the establishment of community oral rehydration points, provision of urgent cholera supplies, strengthening measures to prevent spread of cholera, rapid water testing, and repair and treatment of boreholes. In addition, the UK has funded the deployment of technical support and provided funding to support the response in refugee camps. We have also provided technical support to the World Health Organisation (WHO) through the Standby Partnership network by deploying a water sanitation expert in Lilongwe this month to help tackle the cholera outbreak in Malawi. Further UK funding is also being disbursed through the humanitarian Start Fund to support cholera work in refugee camps through the non-governmental organisation Welthungerhilfe. The UK will continue to work together with all organisations to strengthen coordination and support partners using both human and financial resources to tackle the cholera outbreak.