Medicine: Research

(asked on 11th May 2021) - View Source

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 potential effect of the reduction in the Official Development Assistance budget on the UK's health research sector and its ability to develop as a science superpower; and for what reason funding for neglected tropical diseases has been reduced by 90 per cent.


Answered by
James Duddridge Portrait
James Duddridge
This question was answered on 20th May 2021

The Government has had to take the tough but necessary decision to temporarily reduce the UK's commitment to spend 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) on overseas development assistance (ODA). We recognise there will be visible reductions across our ODA portfolio compared to 0.7%, but we have worked hard to maintain UK support to the world's poorest people. FCDO ODA will be targeted to addressing seven global challenges facing the world poorest, focusing our investments and expertise on issues where the UK can make the most difference: climate change and biodiversity; Covid and global health security; girls' education; science, research and technology; open societies and conflict resolution; humanitarian preparedness and response; and trade and economic development.

FCDO will now work through what this means for individual research programmes, in line with the priorities we have identified. Scientific and technological innovation runs through all seven priority themes for our ODA spend.

We continue to value the work of researchers based in the UK and are proud that UK expertise in science, research and development has led to one of the first effective and affordable COVID-19 vaccines. The UK will remain a global leader on international development, with an ODA budget on track to exceed £10 billion this year.

In respect of interventions for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) the UK is proud of the significant contribution we have made to global efforts to protect hundreds of millions of people from NTDs. Our programmes have worked hard to deliver NTD treatment and care and to strengthen health systems to deliver these services going forward. We will work with countries affected by NTDs to help them strengthen their health systems so that they are able to prevent and treat NTDs in a more sustainable way.

Reticulating Splines