Government responds to Questions on how cuts in Overseas Development Assistance will compromise their ability to support the eradication of malaria and Tropical Diseases and fails to address reports that 770 million medicines donated by pharmaceutical companies will not be delivered, and 180,000 disability preventing surgical operations will not now go ahead, because of cuts in Overseas Development Assistance

Jun 10, 2021 | News

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/donated-medicines-go-to-waste-as-aid-cuts-start-to-bite-frp73zjvd

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL597):

Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether cuts in Overseas Development Assistance will compromise their ability to support the eradication of malaria. (HL597)

Tabled on: 26 May 2021

Answer:
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The seismic impact of the pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to make tough but necessary decisions, including reducing our malaria spend. Although we are moving away from a fixed spending target, we will continue to be a major donor to malaria, as part of our wider ambition to end the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children.

The UK has made a significant contribution to global efforts to drive down malaria cases and deaths, and lay the foundations for eradication. We are proud of what the UK and partners have done to address the burden of malaria in developing countries. The UK remains committed to a high level of funding for malaria, including our sizeable £1.4 billion commitment to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. We will also continue to invest in health systems strengthening and universal health coverage, which are vital for continued progress on malaria and for addressing other health needs broadly and sustainably. Global health remains a top priority for UK ODA. We will continue to be a major contributor in leading international action to strengthen global health security through our support to the WHO and multilateral global funds such as Gavi and bilateral support for health programmes within countries.

Date and time of answer: 10 Jun 2021 at 17:14.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL596):

Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool


To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report by Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases Our open letter on the UK cuts: A tragic blow for ‘global Britain’ and the world’s most vulnerable people, published on 29 April; and in particular its findings that (1) most of the 770 million medicines donated by pharmaceutical companies will not be delivered, and (2) 180,000 disability preventing surgical operations will not now go ahead, because of cuts in Overseas Development Assistance. (HL596)

Tabled on: 26 May 2021

Answer:
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The seismic impact of the pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to make tough but necessary decisions, including exiting from some programmes such as Accelerating the Sustainable Control and Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) programme. The UK has made a significant contribution to global efforts to protect hundreds of millions of people from NTDs. Our programmes have delivered NTD treatment, care, and strengthened health systems to deliver these services going forward. We are currently working with partners, drug companies, donors, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to mitigate impacts, and to exit the programme as responsibly as possible within financial constraints. We continue to distribute drugs to fight NTDs, and perform surgeries in the most urgent cases.

Global health remains a top priority for UK ODA, and we will continue to be a major contributor in leading international action to strengthen global health security, and help build more resilient health systems. Departmental cross-government allocations of ODA spend for 2021/22 were laid out in a Written Ministerial Statement in Parliament on 21 April, and the Foreign Secretary has highlighted that the FCDO will spend £1,305 million on global health, which means we will remain among the most generous international donors.

Date and time of answer: 10 Jun 2021 at 17:14.

Lord David Alton

For 18 years David Alton was a Member of the House of Commons and today he is an Independent Crossbench Life Peer in the UK House of Lords.

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