Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department’s planned reduction of funding to multilateral organisations on global efforts to (a) reduce the global prevalence of trachoma and (b) the number of cases of blindness caused by trachoma.

Trachoma is the world's leading causes of infectious blindness. Much progress has been made with the number of people at risk of blindness from trachoma having reduced by over 90% since 2002. The UK will continue to fund multilaterals which contribute to global progress on trachoma, such as the World Health Organisation. Our investments will continue to support countries, including those affected by trachoma, to strengthen their health systems to deliver essential health services. We will also continue to invest in research and development to maintain defences against diseases like trachoma and make progress to eliminate them.