Select committee: International Development Committee
Recommendation 5
Fifth Report - Humanitarian crises monitoring: impact of coronavirus (interim findings)
Published 13 Nov 2020
Paragraph 96
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 conclude that, for the time being, it would not be prudent for the Government to work on the basis that funding allocated to research for vaccines, treatments or tests for Covid-19 would count as ODA, as it “contributes to addressing a global challenge and not a disease disproportionately affecting people in developing countries”. Our view is that this frees up a substantial sum from the 2020 ODA pot to be applied to, either alleviate part of the cuts made in anticipation of reduced GNI for 2020, or activity aimed at alleviating secondary impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. We would recommend the latter course (in so far as the options are mutually exclusive).
From: International Development Committee, Fifth Report - Humanitarian crises monitoring: impact of coronavirus (interim findings) (HC 292), paragraph 96, 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.