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1200290

registered interest
date	03/06/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Coronavirus: Females
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what steps the Department for International Development is taking to ensure that women and women's organisations are (1) included, and (2) supported, to participate at all levels in the (a) design, (b) implementation, and (c) evaluation, of responses to COVID-19 and its secondary impacts.
tabling member printed	Baroness Goudie
uin	HL5188
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2020 answer text <p>The significant gender impacts of COVID-19 are deeply concerning. DFID has been regularly consulting various women’s funds and women’s rights organisations (WROs), to understand first-hand what’s happening and to inform our response. Over the last month, DFID has hosted numerous roundtables where WROs took part.</p><p>DFID’s decision to pledge £10 million to the United Nations Population Fund and £20 million to UNICEF was informed by the conclusions of a rapid assessment of 122 WROs, which the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence undertook. DFID also launched a call for proposals under our Rapid Response Facility requiring all projects to mainstream gender, protection and safeguarding.</p><p>Through engagement with the UN, the World Bank and G7, DFID has promoted the importance of recognising women as frontline actors and leaders, and placing WROs front and centre in the international response.</p><p>DFID is being more flexible in its funding to support WROs. Amplify Change, a multi-donor fund is supporting local organisations for improved sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) adapt to address immediate and heightened SRHR risks.</p><p>This month DFID hosts its first Gender Equality Challenge Board. Experts, including women’s funds, will be invited to hold us to account on our plans for economic response and recovery.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 11/06/2020 10:56:49 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	3575 label Biography information for Baroness Goudie

1200353

registered interest
date	03/06/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Development Aid: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking with multilateral organisations to ensure that official development assistance, allocated to tackling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, is reaching people living in the global south that need it.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL5239
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2020 answer text <p>The UK is working together with international partners including the G7, G20, the UN, the World Bank and other multilateral institutions, to galvanise the global fight against COVID-19.</p><p>The UK is playing a leading role in the international response to the pandemic, pledging up to £764 million of UK aid to help address urgent needs in vulnerable countries, accelerate progress towards a vaccine, reinforce infection control and help the poorest countries address the economic impact.</p><p>We are a major contributor to the UN Global Humanitarian Response Plan, which is supporting the most vulnerable people in this crisis, including women and girls, people with disabilities, refugees, internally displaced persons, migrants and host communities. The UK has committed £2.2 billion in new loan resources for the IMF’s concessional lending operations to make rapid emergency financing available for developing countries, and up to £150 million to the IMF Catastrophe Containment Relief Trust for the poorest countries to receive debt relief on IMF repayments. On 4 June, the UK hosted the Global Vaccine Summit, where world leaders, foundations, corporations and organisations pledged $8.8 billion for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. This funding will help strengthen health systems in the global fight against COVID-19 and immunise a further 300 million children in the world’s poorest countries against other deadly diseases. The UK remains Gavi’s largest donor, pledging an equivalent of £330 million per year over the next five years.</p><p>We continue to use our seat at the table to shape the multilateral response and ensure it addresses the needs and priorities of the poorest and most vulnerable.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 11/06/2020 11:09:28 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1200354

registered interest
date	03/06/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Non-governmental Organisations: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what support they are providing to international non-governmental organisations based in the UK to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL5240
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2020 answer text <p>UK and Southern Civil Society organisations (CSOs) are crucial partners for DFID and play a critical role in ensuring UK aid reaches the most vulnerable in the global response to COVID-19. UK charities, such as Christian Aid and Humanity &amp; Inclusion, are receiving funding to support vulnerable people around the world during the crisis. We have allocated £18 million to charities through the Rapid Response Facility and over £24 million through our partnership with Unilever.</p><p>A new UK Aid Direct funding round has also been launched, some of which has been set aside for rapid access by existing UK Aid Direct grant holders who are able to respond immediately to COVID-19. As DFID’s country network adapts programming to respond to COVID-19, country teams are considering how they can do this through partners, including through CSOs.</p><p>In addition, DFID welcomes the vital role that NGOs will continue to play in service delivery through multilaterals. UN agencies have undertaken a review of their existing procedures related to partnership management and issued additional internal guidance to simplify and expedite collaboration where appropriate. We will be working with the UN and DFID’s country offices to increasingly better understand and track eventual flows to NGOs in-country.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 11/06/2020 11:04:19 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1200361

registered interest
date	03/06/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Violence: Females
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government whether the response to violence against women, and in particular, intimate partner violence, is provided for as an essential service within their COVID-19 response overseas.
tabling member printed	Baroness Tonge
uin	HL5256
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2020 answer text <p>The UK is deeply concerned about the surge in violence against women and girls (VAWG) during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are using significant investment and influence within the international system to ensure that women and girls have access to the essential and lifesaving services they need.</p><p>We have already provided £10 million of UK aid to the UN Population Fund and £20 million to the UN Children’s Fund to scale up protection and support services for women and girls.</p><p>We are adapting DFID’s WISH programme activities to prevent and respond to reported increases in Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) as a result of the pandemic. This includes mapping of SGBV support services, remote training to support women disclosing SGBV, messaging in media campaigns, such as radio, and referrals to centres providing services for survivors; contact centres to provide first line support; as well as support to advocacy efforts. We are also urgently reorienting other existing bilateral programmes to ensure that women and girls can continue to access support during the lockdown. For example, in Nepal, the UK is financing 14 Women’s and Children Service Centres across the country and 62 One Stop Management Crisis Centres within Health Centres. In Uganda, DFID is supporting the Government's response to the spikes in VAWG by funding 13 shelters across the country and supporting revision of standard operating procedures to ensure safety of frontline staff and survivors.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 11/06/2020 10:57:53 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	200 label Biography information for Baroness Tonge

1200362

registered interest
date	03/06/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Development Aid: Family Planning
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government how they ensure (1) the availability of, and (2) equitable access to, sexual and reproductive health and rights services is included as part of the essential package of health services for their COVID-19 response overseas.
tabling member printed	Baroness Tonge
uin	HL5257
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2020 answer text <p>The UK proudly continues to work with our key partners, including UN agencies, national governments and civil society, to protect and advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), to ensure that decades of progress toward securing universal access are not reversed by the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>We remain committed to supporting the Minimum Initial Service Package for Reproductive Health in Crises and have provided UNFPA with an additional £10 million for life-saving SRH services as part of the global humanitarian response plan to COVID-19.</p><p>The UK-aid funded Global Financing Facility is continuing to support governments to maintain health systems in 36 affected countries, with a focus on protecting reproductive, maternal and newborn health services. Our flagship SRHR programme ‘WISH’ is delivering desperately-needed services and supplies during the pandemic across 27 countries, including increasing use of technologies, more self-care delivery and working to ensure SRHR is part of national COVID-19 essential service delivery. Ensuring that no-one is left behind is key to this effort. Local radio and SMS are providing critical messages on SRHR and COVID-19 to those living in remote areas. Where possible, fee waiver schemes are removing cost-barriers for the poorest and community outreach services continue in rural areas where it remains safe to do so.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 11/06/2020 10:54:56 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	200 label Biography information for Baroness Tonge

1199218

registered interest
date	02/06/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Humanitarian Aid: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what engagement they have had with the UN and other international actors to ensure that tackling gender-based violence is recognised as a specific objective in the COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan.
tabling member printed	Baroness Goudie
uin	HL4970
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2020 answer text <p>The UK is deeply concerned about the surge in gender-based violence (GBV) during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have consistently encouraged the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to prioritise GBV within the Global Humanitarian Response Plan (GHRP) through bilateral channels and joint advocacy with other donors. We believe revising the GHRP to explicitly include a specific objective on GBV will prove lifesaving for women and girls.</p><p>Whilst we are pleased to see improvements in how GBV is being addressed overall in the GHRP, the UK is still championing a specific objective on GBV in future versions. All UN agencies and international actors must demonstrate that the shadow pandemic of GBV is taken seriously in the global response to COVID-19 and be held accountable for addressing GBV.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 11/06/2020 10:58:25 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	3575 label Biography information for Baroness Goudie

1197886

registered interest
date	21/05/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Africa: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the COVID-19 pandemic is progressing in Africa at a slower rate than they expected; and if so, what assessment they have made of why that is the case.
tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
uin	HL4851
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/06/2020 answer text <p>The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 is currently increasing more rapidly in Africa today than many other regions in the world. Currently cases in Africa are growing by approximately 5% each day compared with 3% in Asia and 1% in Europe. Cases continue to rise in Africa and while overall it took 52 days to reach the first 10,000 cases, it took only 11 days to move from 30,000 to 50,000 cases, and Africa now has over 100,000 cases.</p><p>However, confirmed cases of COVID-19 are growing at a slower rate than was the case in Europe and Asia at the same stage of their epidemics. This slower growth in Africa may be explained by under-reporting due to low testing rates. For example, as of 7 May, an average of 69 tests were carried out in Africa per 100,000 people compared to over 30 times this rate in Europe. It is possible that the lower mortality to date could be as a result of Africa being the youngest continent demographically, with a lower proportion of older people who are at higher risk of death. It is important to remain vigilant for the potential increase in cases that Africa could see in the coming months. Africa is also likely to see disproportionate indirect impacts of COVID-19 on wider health, economic, and social outcomes, which will be important to mitigate.</p><p>So far, the UK has pledged £764 million of UK aid to help end this pandemic as quickly as possible. This includes support to Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to model the future trajectory of the pandemic in low- and middle-income countries. This will help understand how COVID-19 is progressing in Africa and help to inform governments in the region on how best to respond to the pandemic.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 03/06/2020 15:32:37 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1197821

registered interest
date	20/05/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Coronavirus: Humanitarian Aid
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to contribute to the UN’s COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan appeal; and when they intend to announce their contribution.
tabling member printed	Baroness Sheehan
uin	HL4799
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2020 answer text <p>The UK strongly supports the UN’s Global Humanitarian Response Plan (GHRP) to tackle COVID-19. So far, we have pledged up to £764 million of UK aid to support the global effort to combat COVID-19. From this, £220 million has gone to UN agencies in the GHRP, such as the World Food Programme and UN Refugee Agency, as well as humanitarian organisations such as the Red Cross and international NGOs.</p><p>DFID is also adapting its programmes across its country network to respond to COVID-19 and address the needs of the most vulnerable, as outlined in the GHRP.</p><p>As a leading donor to the COVID 19 global response and one of the biggest humanitarian donors globally, we are ensuring that our support goes to those who need it the most, including refugees and other forcibly displaced populations. The UK has lobbied successfully at the UN to ensure that vulnerable groups such as refugees are taken into consideration and prioritised in the UN Global Humanitarian Response Plan.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 04/06/2020 12:14:07 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	4548 label Biography information for Baroness Sheehan

1197822

registered interest
date	20/05/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Developing Countries: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the £744 million in aid they have committed to address COVID-19 has been allocated to provide frontline assistance to less economically developed countries.
tabling member printed	Baroness Sheehan
uin	HL4800
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/06/2020 answer text <p>We have committed up to £764 million of UK aid funding to date, to support global efforts to combat COVID-19.</p><p>This includes up to £296 million to support and enhance resilience in vulnerable countries, encompassing:</p><ul><li>£145 million for UN appeals including: £75 million for the WHO; £20 million for UNICEF, £5 million for Education Cannot Wait, £20 million for the UN Refugee Agency; £15 million for the World Food Programme; and £10 million to UNFPA to provide lifesaving SRHR and gender based violence prevention.</li><li>£55 million to International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement appeals to provide medical supplies and equipment to hospitals and clinics and the building of quarantine areas and disinfection facilities.</li><li>£20 million for international NGO’s including UK charities using British expertise and experience to tackle COVID-19.</li><li>£50 million DFID funding matched with Unilever, advising one billion people about the importance of hygiene and the distribution of over 20 million products.</li><li>£6 million for medical and humanitarian expertise including the deployment of medical specialists from the UK Emergency Medical Team to vulnerable African countries.</li><li>Up to £20 million in the African Union’s new COVID-19 Response Fund to tackle the virus and save lives.</li></ul><p>We have also provided up to £150 million of UK aid funding to the IMF’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust to help developing countries meet their debt repayments so that they can focus their available resources on tackling COVID-19.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 03/06/2020 15:32:59 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	4548 label Biography information for Baroness Sheehan

1197823

registered interest
date	20/05/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Developing Countries: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to support less economically developed countries to remove all financial barriers to healthcare to deliver free testing and treatment for COVID-19.
tabling member printed	Baroness Sheehan
uin	HL4801
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/06/2020 answer text <p>The UK champions universal health coverage (UHC) as vital to ensuring access to quality essential health services for all and helping to protect everyone from infectious diseases, including COVID-19. UHC includes ensuring that no one is impoverished through paying for health services and reducing financial barriers to access especially for the poorest and most vulnerable. Our programmes help poor and vulnerable people to meet food and other basic needs including direct and indirect costs of health care, such as transport so they can access essential health services.</p><p>The UK has, so far, pledged £764 million of UK aid to help end the COVID-19 pandemic, in support of the coordinated international response through the international financing institutions, multilaterals and global health initiatives, and DFID programmes. This is to meet the urgent health, humanitarian and economic needs of vulnerable people in developing countries. This funding includes up to £40 million to the Wellcome Therapeutics Accelerator and up to £23 million to the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, both of which are central to efforts to accelerate development and access to new COVID-19 treatments and tests.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 03/06/2020 15:15:23 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	4548 label Biography information for Baroness Sheehan