Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect the reduction in Overseas Development Assistance on health programmes in response to the covid-19 pandemic in (a) Afghanistan, (b) India, (c) Nepal, (d) Pakistan and (e) Bangladesh.

We have prioritised our aid to be more strategic and remain a force for good across the world. In total, the FCDO will spend £1,305 million on global health. We will focus on the UK's position at the forefront of the international response to COVID-19, through our commitments to COVAX, GAVI and the WHO. As the Foreign Secretary set out via Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament, one third of FCDO bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) will be spent in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia, in support of our deeper engagement in the region.

The portfolio agreed by the Foreign Secretary will focus our investment and expertise on issues where the UK can make the most difference and achieve maximum strategic coherence, impact, and value for money. We will now work through what this means for individual programmes, in line with the priorities we have identified.