Question
It is not just Afghanistan where we see a rollback in the protection of women and girls. Last week, I was in Sierra Leone, working with parliamentarians there to try to prevent sexual-based violence. As part of that trip, we went to the maternal health unit in Freetown, where the UK has been supporting the health industry for the last 20 years. We cut all of our funding to that last year, which means there is now no money for procurement or for any healthcare in that country. What are we going to do for countries where we have cut all our funding to help them transition in a meaningful way, rather than presenting them, basically, with a death sentence?
Answer
The Chair of the Select Committee is a long-standing champion on these issues, even before her time chairing the Committee, and she and I have discussed these issues on many occasions. We always welcome a conversation with her about these matters, and I am sure that the Minister for International Development, who has responsibility for Africa, and indeed the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgend (Chris Elmore), who works on preventing sexual violence, would be happy to sit down and discuss these issues with her.
Verdict: RED (4/100)
The question asked what the Government will do to help countries whose funding has been fully cut transition meaningfully. The reply does not address this. It praises the Chair, refers to past discussions, and offers to pass her request to ministers for a conversation, but it sets out no policy, programme or mechanism for transition. The person who asked would almost certainly need to ask again.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the Government is going to do for countries where it has cut all of its funding, to help them transition in a meaningful way. | Not Addressed | Generic | The item asks what the Government will do to help countries whose funding has been fully cut transition meaningfully, but the reply only praises the Chair, mentions past discussions, and offers to refer her to ministers for a conversation, with no policy, programme, or mechanism for transition. |