Source · Select Committees · International Development Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Deferred
Disabled people's needs must be incorporated into all Zero Hunger programming.
Recommendation
Disabled people are particularly vulnerable to hunger and their needs must be incorporated into all Zero Hunger focussed programming. The Government have made important steps in this direction. (Conclusion, Paragraph 31)
Government Response Summary
The government partially agreed, recognizing the vulnerability of disabled people to hunger, but deferred concrete action on incorporating their needs into programming, stating it was necessary to pause the refresh of the Disability Inclusion and Rights Strategy until after the multi-year Spending Review due to ODA budget reductions.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
Partially Agree 16. The Government recognises the linkages between the prevalence of disability and inadequate nutrition. Children with disabilities suffer disproportionately higher rates of malnutrition yet are less likely to benefit from nutritional programmes. This is most often due to an interplay of factors including physical problems in feeding, a lack of knowledge or skills among caregivers regarding feeding practices, or broader societal causes related to neglect or stigma. Malnutrition itself can also cause life-long functional and cognitive impairment. 17. In February, the Prime Minister announced the government’s commitment to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP from April 2027, to be funded by a reduction to ODA spending. Reducing the overall size of our ODA budget will necessarily have an impact on the scale and shape of the work we do. It was therefore necessary to pause the refresh of our Disability Inclusion and Rights Strategy. We will consider options for updating it once the multi-year Spending Review has concluded and our future priorities and resource allocation decisions on international development are clearer.