Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much of their budget support to the government of Sierra Leone has been directed towards health system strengthening between (1) 2002 and 2009, and (2) 2010 and 2015.

The Department for International Development has spent the following amounts on bilateral health projects in Sierra Leone since 2005-06, inclusive of General Budget Support:

The 2010-11 figures include one-off start-up costs for the launch (in April 2010) and rollout of the Free Health Care Initiative in Sierra Leone.

Specifically with regards to General Budget Support, DFID began disbursing General Budget Support to the Government of Sierra Leone in 2005/6. Of these figures above, DFID has spent £6.7m on the health sector through budget support between 2005/6 and 2010/11 and £17.3m on the health sector through budget support between 2010/11 and 2014/15.

These figures are calculated on the basis of the proportion of the Government of Sierra Leone’s (GoSL) total budget that was allocated to health in the given years.

These figures do not include the substantial health support delivered via multilateral bodies such as Gavi and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GF). These funds disbursed US$38.9m (Gavi) and US$148.5m (GF) to Sierra Leone over 2005-2014. The UK has provided significant funding to both of these organisations and most recently pledged up to £1bn to the GF over 2014-2016 period and £1bn to Gavi for 2016–20.