Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department is providing to the Department of Health and Social Care to use the upcoming World Health Assembly as an opportunity to encourage other countries to Invest in strengthening their healthcare systems.

DFID works closely with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on the UK’s relationship with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and its Member States, including sending a joint delegation to the World Health Assembly. The recent Independent Commission for Aid Impact’s review on the UK aid response to global health threats noted that a coherent shared vision and an effective joint approach between DFID and DHSC contributes to the UK’s success in influencing WHO reform. Strengthening health systems to deliver universal health coverage (UHC) is a priority for the UK. The UK publicly supports the WHO’s leadership role on UHC and urges other Member States to accelerate progress towards this goal.