Eighth Report - Covid-19 in developing countries: secondary impacts

The government details significant direct funding allocated to international and UK-based charities for COVID-19 response and highlights partnerships aimed at building capacity for locally led NGOs. It also provides an update on the lessons learned from the DEPP programme, but does not commit to new specific actions for increasing direct funding or incentivising partners.

The government states it assesses COVID-19's impact on healthcare by commissioning and synthesizing evidence and commits to publishing its 2020 global health spend. However, it explicitly states there are no immediate plans to publish a global health strategy, while noting it continues to review its approach.

The government reports pledging an additional £180 million for food insecurity and highlights its long-standing commitment to cash transfers, detailing over £338 million spent in FY19/20. However, it defers renewing nutrition commitments pending an internal review and does not address the request for quarterly updates on food security measures.

The government stated it is developing ambitious actions and targets on gender-based violence, to be published at the Generation Equality Forum in June. However, it implicitly rejected ringfencing funding by referencing the ODA budget reduction, and described reorienting existing programmes to support survivors without explicitly detailing new accountability measures for partners.

The government states it regularly publishes annual reviews of UK-funded SRHR programmes on its Development Tracker website. It rejects ringfencing funding for specific contraceptive methods, arguing it could limit choice, and asserts that the pledge to end preventable deaths of mothers, newborns, and children is already integrated into its global health approach and ODA strategic framework.