Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to help improve (a) water and (b) hygiene infrastructure in developing states.

Improving water, sanitation and hygiene is necessary to meet the UK ambition to end preventable deaths by 2030. The UK continues to fund the provision of safe water, sanitation and hygiene interventions across the globe, including responding to outbreaks of disease such as COVID-19, cholera and ebola.

UK funding has meant that over 62.6 million people across 30 countries have gained access to drinking water or a toilet since 2015. Action on hygiene, particularly hand and surface hygiene, is particularly important in the COVID-19 response and recovery. The UK Government's partnership with Unilever seeks to improve hygiene in 37 countries in response to the pandemic.