Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to prioritise child protection in its response to the covid-19 pandemic.

The UK Government is committed to protecting vulnerable children and helping them to grow up free from violence through COVID-19 and beyond. DFID is working with international partners to ensure that child protection is prioritised and integrated into the multi-sectoral response to the pandemic. We have provided £20 million to UNICEF to support the continuity of essential social services for children, women and vulnerable populations, including child protection.

DFID is adapting its child protection programming to respond to COVID-19. For example, our support to the UN Global Programme to End Child Marriage is responding across 12 countries by strengthening national child helplines and the social welfare workforce and raising awareness on child marriage risks through radio stations. In Ethiopia we have provided an additional £5 million to UNICEF, which is supporting the provision of Mental Health and Psycho-Social Support services to affected children and families and capacity building for frontline health and education workers on child protection risks.

Keeping children safe while they are out of school is a priority for DFID. The UK is the largest donor to Education Cannot Wait and we recently agreed an additional £5 million of funding for the COVID-19 response that is supporting emergency education measures and information campaigns, and upgrading water and sanitation facilities in schools. As the largest donor to the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children our £5 million contribution to the Safe to Learn campaign is now focusing on keeping children safe in the out-of-school learning environment.