Source · Select Committees · International Development Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Paragraph: 58
We are very concerned about the time the Government has taken to disburse the UK...
Recommendation
We are very concerned about the time the Government has taken to disburse the UK aid it has pledged to Afghanistan, given the considerable and escalating humanitarian need in the country. The Government should have worked faster to disburse the UK aid it pledged to Afghanistan in 2021.
Paragraph Reference:
58
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
funding is spent responsibly. The FCDO has done this in Afghanistan. The FCDO’s approach has been to ensure that aid is phased against developing needs, partners’ capability to implement, and to respond to aid agencies’ appeals such as the UN (September 2021, January 2022), the Disasters Emergency Committee (December 2021) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (February 2022). Following the Taliban takeover in August 2021, many humanitarian partners paused programming to reassess whether they could continue operations given heightened security risks, widespread departure of international and national staff and the need to pivot work towards life-saving assistance. Thorough engagement with partners started weeks before funding was transferred. This included Lord Ahmad’s direct engagement with UN agencies and international NGOs including the World Food Programme, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross following the fall of Kabul. Seeking assurances our partners had the necessary safeguards to mitigate against risk and could utilise funds effectively was imperative. Of the £286 million pledged by the Prime Minister in August, we disbursed 50% by the end of December 2021; 90% by the end of February 2022; and 100% by the end of the financial year.