Tag: Baroness Northover

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-01-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will nominate a candidate to serve on the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and if not, why not.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The UK strongly supports the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and is committed to advancing women’s rights through the United Nations machinery.

We have not nominated a candidate to the CEDAW Committee and do not intend to do so. Our decision not to nominate a UK expert for election to the Committee is based on a number of considerations, including the need to allow for a reasonable amount of time and substantial resources to mount a campaign.

CEDAW Committee members serve in their personal capacity and do not represent the Member State that nominated them. We have full faith in the independence of the Committee and applaud the high quality of its work.

UK nationals are well represented on other UN treaty monitoring bodies, such as the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-09-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential contribution of addressing childhood cancer to the third Sustainable Development Goal.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The third millennium development goal includes the intention to reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment by 2030: this includes all forms of cancer. Reporting will be based on data from country health information systems.

DFID’s health focus is to improve the provision of basic health services for the poorest by strengthening health systems, improving health worker capacity and increasing access to essential medicines and equipment. Increasing coverage, access and quality will strengthen health services to address all health problems including childhood cancer. DFID also supports some specific efforts to tackle childhood cancer, such as a project through World Child Cancer in Burma, which seeks to improve the diagnosis, treatment and care for children with cancer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-01-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the Department for International Development’s spending currently goes towards water, sanitation and hygiene programmes.

Baroness Verma

Expenditure by sector is reported in Statistics on International Development which I have attached for your convenience.

In 2014, UK bilateral expenditure on water supply and sanitation was £180.8 million. This was 2.6% of the UK’s total bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA).

When DFID or other UK government departments provide core contributions in support of multilateral organisations, we do not break down by sector. However, there are a number of multilateral organisations that are focussed on water and sanitation. Details of the contributions from DFID to each multilateral organisation can be found at Table A8 of the attachment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-09-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of smoking rates in low- and middle-income countries and how those rates are predicted to evolve over the next century; and how they take such rates into account in awarding development funding.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Government recognises the significant impact of tobacco use in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Tobacco use is the world’s single most preventable cause of disease and the number of tobacco users is increasing in LMICs. If current patterns of use persist, tobacco will kill about 1 billion people in the 21st Century. Evidence indicates that by 2030, over 80% of the world’s tobacco-related mortality will be in LMICs.

Tobacco use is also a major barrier to sustainable development. A major driver of social inequities, tobacco use imposes significant social, economic and environmental harm on individuals, families and national economies.

Given the recognised impact of tobacco on international development, the United Kingdom Government is funding a project to strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, using official development assistance funds. Through this project, we will share the UK’s experience in tobacco control to support LMICs to save lives by putting effective measures in place to stop people using tobacco.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-01-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures the Department for International Development is taking to reach rural communities with water, sanitation and hygiene programmes, as well as urban ones.

Baroness Verma

DFID reached over 62 million people with water, sanitation and/or hygiene in the five years to 2014/15. Approximately 90% of these results were delivered in rural communities.

DFID supports large programmes focussed on basic rural water and sanitation services for the poor. These include programmes with the governments of Ethiopia and Mozambique and a programme implemented by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and WaterAid in Nigeria.

Through partnerships with organisations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP), DFID is supporting the water and sanitation sector in developing better and faster ways of delivering improved urban water and sanitation services in unserved slums and low income communities in towns and cities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-10-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent ageing and older people in developing countries remain an issue of concern for the Department for International Development, why this matter no longer forms part of the Department’s ministerial portfolios, and whether ageing still forms part of the Department’s Inclusive Societies work.

Lord Bates

The Department for International Development’s (DFID) Inclusive Societies department leads the Department’s work on ageing. The Minister of State, Rory Stewart, has responsibility for Inclusive Societies department’s work.

Many DFID programmes reach and include older people, for example on health systems strengthening and eye care, or specific programmes for the poorest including supporting slum dwellers in Tanzania or supporting widows resulting from the Genocide in Rwanda.

Ageing also features in DFID country level poverty analyses as a key factor in understanding poverty. In addition to this DFID is taking a global leadership role to push for better quality and use of age disaggregated data to ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals leave no one behind. DFID hosted a series of high profile events on this subject in May and is working towards the publication of an action plan detailing next steps early in 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 1 February (HL5238), what proportion of UK aid spending on water, sanitation and hygiene is targeted at the maintenance and upkeep of existing facilities.

Baroness Verma

Our WASH programmes take an integrated approach to both provision and maintenance of existing facilities, involving building national, local and community capacity and systems to ensure that services continue to function over time. In 2014, total UK bilateral ODA spending on water supply and sanitation was £181 million. UK aid expenditure is reported in Statistics on International Development report at table A6a which I have attached for your convenience.

We do not collect data separately on the amount of funds allocated to installation of facilities and their subsequent maintenance. In most countries responsibility for financing operation and maintenance is passed to the community where services have been installed, after appropriate training has been provided.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-02-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the £536 million spent by the Department for International Development on malaria in 2013–14 was disbursed, and how much of the total committed to malaria in 2014–15 has not yet been spent.

Baroness Verma

The methodology used to monitor UK malaria spend between 2008/09 and 2014/15 was published in the 2010 Framework for Results for Malaria. In 2013/14 the UK provided £536 million to help reduce malaria deaths. The UK is helping to tackle malaria through bilateral and multilateral channels. The UK’s bilateral support includes: malaria-specific bilateral programmes (36% of total malaria spend in 2013/14); support to strengthening health systems (20% of malaria spend in 2013/14); and other bilateral support including the delivery of interventions to reduce malaria in pregnancy and supporting malaria related research (10% of 2013/14 malaria spend).

The main contribution to tackling malaria through multilateral channels is the UK support to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (31% of total malaria spend in 2013/14).All of the Department’s 2014/15 spend on malaria has been disbursed. The UK’s investment on malaria has contributed to saving more than six million lives over the past 15 years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-03-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that women from affected communities are in positions of leadership and involved in planning and decision-making during a humanitarian emergency response.

Baroness Verma

To ensure that humanitarian responses meet the unique needs of women and girls, women should be provided with opportunities to engage in humanitarian response systems, decision-making processes, and accountability mechanisms. DFID works with partners, including United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations to promote the inclusion of women and women’s groups in planning and decision-making around preparedness, response, and early recovery. This approach reflects the International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014 that states that before provision of humanitarian assistance, the Secretary of State shall have regard to how it will take account of gender-related differences in needs.

Ensuring the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016 delivers outcomes for women and girls is a priority for the Government. This includes support towards proposals for system-wide accountability for gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment in crises and increased participation of women’s groups in humanitarian responses.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-03-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that their work supporting humanitarian emergency responses delivers long-term change that empowers women from affected communities.

Baroness Verma

Through meaningful participation and inclusion during humanitarian preparedness and response, women and girls can be included in long-term change and recovery efforts following natural disasters, conflicts, and other crises. The Women, Peace, and Security agenda offers an opportunity to link women’s participation in immediate crises response to wider political, social, and economic participation, including their inclusion in peace processes. Along with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence, DFID is a partner in delivering the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security.

The World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016 offers an opportunity to ensure that women are empowered during the delivery of humanitarian assistance, which has been demonstrated to accelerate the transition from response to recovery and lead to longer-term efforts to promote and achieve gender equality. One the Government’s priorities for the Summit is to push for it to deliver outcomes for women and girls.