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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

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

1196857

registered interest
date	18/05/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Syria: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relative burden falling on (1) NGOs, and (2) the Syrian government and its agencies, in managing the COVID-19 crisis in Syria, including in respect of the size of the (a) populations, and (b) geographic areas, they are supporting.
tabling member printed	Baroness Cox
uin	HL4568
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/06/2020 answer text <p>In May 2020, the UN launched an appeal of $384 million to provide a multi sector response to the COVID-19 pandemic (health and non-health sectors) across the whole of Syria. There are currently 58 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Syrian Government-controlled areas, with three deaths. There have also been unconfirmed reports of infections in North West Syria, whilst the Self Administration governing North East Syria have confirmed six cases.</p><p>The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said on 19 May that despite these numbers, a risk of a wider spread is ever present and called for essential, sustained and impeded humanitarian access. The WHO has warned of an impending ‘explosion’ of cases and a possibly significant outbreak that will be difficult for the already weakened health system to manage after years of conflict.</p><p>We are particularly concerned for the welfare of Syrians in IDP camps, who due to poor, crowded living conditions, would be unable to maintain social distance. In areas not currently under Syrian Government control, it is essential that humanitarian access to life-saving services and humanitarian support is unhindered. This must be done in a way that does not increase the spread of the virus, including through support for renewal of the UN Security Council resolution on cross-border humanitarian assistance.</p><p>In Syria the UK is one of the leading donors supporting international efforts to deliver vital healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene activities; all of which help to mitigate the threat posed by COVID-19. The UK is monitoring the situation closely and working with humanitarian partners inside Syria to respond to the outbreak and to sustain life-saving services.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 01/06/2020 15:47:26 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	3364 label Biography information for Baroness Cox

1196859

registered interest
date	18/05/2020
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, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 15 May (HL4054), what provision they have made for additional aid to combat COVID-19 in Africa.
tabling member printed	Lord Hain
uin	HL4570
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/06/2020 answer text <p>We are tackling COVID-19’s direct and wide-ranging secondary impacts, and to date have committed up to £764 million of UK aid to support the global response to COVID-19. This includes UK support for the implementation of the African Union’s COVID-19 Continental Strategy. UK aid funding of £20 million will help strengthen healthcare systems and save lives in the African Union’s 55 member states by providing training for healthcare workers, supporting the deployment of African experts, and helping to tackle misinformation around COVID-19.</p><p>The UK has provided public health experts to support Africa Centres for Disease Control through the Department of Health and Social Care International Health Regulations Strengthening Project and the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team. DFID is rapidly adapting its bilateral programmes across Africa to help counter the health, humanitarian, and economic impacts of COVID-19, in support of the poorest people.</p><p>We are seeking to ensure that the significant amounts of finance made available by International Financial Institutions targets the most vulnerable, especially women and girls, flexes to meet the short-term needs of governments, and is coordinated with the UN and other parts of the international response.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 01/06/2020 10:50:23 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	567 label Biography information for Lord Hain