3 DFID's response in Sierra Leone
6. DFID is the lead bilateral donor in Sierra Leone.[14]
It has pledged £230 million in direct support for the Ebola
crisis, including providing medical experts, delivering 700 treatment
beds, supporting the roll-out of 200 community care centres and
deploying 750 troops and RFA Argus, the Royal Navy primary casualty
receiving ship.[15] The
UK Government has also rightly played a prominent role in galvanising
support from other donors in EU and G20 negotiations and in hosting
the 'Defeating Ebola' conference in October.[16]
7. We heard praise for DFID's "very active and
engaged" approach in Sierra Leone and were impressed by how
it had integrated local communities and institutions in its work,[17]
However, we were also told that still too little was being done
to combat the epidemic and that the response in Sierra Leone was
"being outpaced on all fronts" by the spread of the
Ebola virus.[18] The
Secretary of State stressed to us the urgent importance of trying
to "get ahead of the disease".[19]
As of 26 November, DFID had disbursed £117 million of the
£230 million it has pledged, falling some way short of disbursement
rates achieved by other donors. [20]
It is forecast that DFID will disburse the full amount by the
end of the financial year.[21]
8. Witnesses also drew attention to the absence of
sufficient medical professionals to staff new treatment centres.[22]
On 22 November DFID announced that the first 30 NHS volunteers,
selected from more than 1,000 applicants, were to be deployed
to Sierra Leone.[23]
Dr Javid Abdelmoneim, an MSF doctor who had recently returned
from Sierra Leone, stressed that the limiting factor was the difficulty
in backfilling doctors in their NHS roles, rather than the absence
of sufficient volunteers.[24]
In our Report on Strengthening Health Systems in Developing Countries
we recommended DFID fund a formal structure to facilitate more
volunteering by NHS staff.[25]
9. DFID and other donors initially underestimated
the severity of the Ebola crisis. We commend it for the vigour
with which it is now approaching its work in Sierra Leone. We
agree with the Secretary of State that urgent action is imperative,
but we are concerned that Ebola continues to outpace efforts to
address it. We recommend DFID write to us on a monthly basis
detailing progress on, and plans for, aid disbursement, staff
deployment and other actions to tackle Ebola.
14 The United States and France fulfil similar functions
in Liberia and Guinea respectively. Back
15
www.gov.uk, How the UK government is responding to Ebola [accessed
9 December 2014] Back
16
www.gov.uk, Defeating Ebola in Sierra Leone conference, 2 October
2014 [accessed 16 December 2014] Back
17
Q4, Q45 Back
18
Q3 Back
19
Q32 Back
20
DFID supplementary written evidence and United Nations Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Financial
Tracking Service (FTS). FTS data show a breakdown of DFID's financial
pledges and the recipients of funds disbursed to date. Back
21
DFID supplementary written evidence Back
22
Q7 Back
23
www.gov.uk, NHS volunteers deployed to fight Ebola in Sierra Leone,
22 November 2014 [accessed 16 December 2014] Back
24
Q7 Back
25
International Development Committee, Fifth Report of Session 2014-15,
Strengthening Health Systems in Developing Countries, HC
246, para 83 Back
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