Select committee: International Development Committee
Recommendation 1
Fifth Report - Humanitarian crises monitoring: impact of coronavirus (interim findings)
Published 13 Nov 2020
Paragraph 45
Addressed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
International Development Committee Humanitarian crises monitoring: coronavirus in developing countries: secondary impacts All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We recommend that, as part of a renewed consistent approach to promoting global health, the FCDO should continue to fund existing programmes aimed at the eradication of previously identified diseases. The Government should use its integrated voice to lobby development allies and partners to stop any transfer of resources from existing programmes, and the Global Fund, to Covid initiatives.
From: International Development Committee, Fifth Report - Humanitarian crises monitoring: impact of coronavirus (interim findings) (HC 292), paragraph 45, 13 November 2020
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 26 January 2021.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government sets out continued commitment to existing health and gender-based violence programmes, but states that it "disagrees" with the Committee's view that ODA funding should be switched away from COVID-19 research and development.
- On existing disease programmes, it says it will "continue to fund existing programmes which tackle previously identified diseases", including through Gavi and the Global Fund.
- It does not accept that COVID-19 research and development should move from ODA to other budgets, stating that such investment "qualify as ODA" under OECD DAC rules and that moving it "risks underfunding" research suited to developing countries.
- On gender-based violence, it says it "remains committed to eliminating all forms of gender-based violence" and is launching a successor programme, What Works to Prevent Violence: Impact at Scale.
- On a wider global health strategy, it describes the 2021 G7 Presidency as an "opportunity" and says it will work to implement the Prime Minister's five-point plan, without committing to the strategy the Committee proposed.