Annex
1. Q. 1142 Whether the UK Government plays
a part in programmes to strengthen the infrastructure for animal
health care and to ensure that within those countries the strategies
are coordinated.
The UK strengthens animal health care in developing
countries through applied research and the promotion of policies
and institutions that support poor livestock keepers. For example,
the European Union's animal health infrastructure and capacity
building programmes are supported via UK contributions to the
European Commission including the recent €72 million, 32
country, Programme for the Pan African Control of Epizootics.
DFID provides direct support to the Pro-Poor
Livestock Policy Initiative within the UN's Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO). This programme was mentioned in the independent
external evaluation of FAO as influential and an example of best
practice. In 2007, DFID established a public-private partnership,
the Global Alliance for Livestock Vaccines (GALV) to develop,
commercialise and deliver new vaccine technologies for diseases
that affect the poorest livestock keepers.
The Alliance will soon receive $24 million of
co-funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The threat
of highly pathogenic avian influenza is being addressed through
national level control and surveillance projects in selected countries
such as Kenya and Ethiopia. DFID also supports research on the
best policy options for developing countries faced with avian
flu epizootics. In 2007 DFID seconded an expert for three years
to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) to strengthen
developing county laboratories by twinning them with World Reference
Laboratories.
2. Q. 1159 What the UK is doing to ensure
that programmes to treat TB and HIV/AIDS are integrated.
The Department for International Development
(DFID) is working with the global health partnerships and international
financial institutions to improve programme integration in developing
countries. Two examples from the bilateral programme:
In Zambia DFID is implementing two joint HIV/Tuberculosis
projects under the auspices of the Zambia AIDS Related Tuberculosis
(ZAMBART) Project a collaborative effort between the University
of Zambia, School of Medicine and the London School of Hygiene
and Tropical Medicine. Funding initially came from DFID-UK only
and now includes the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, EC, The
Beit Trust and WHO. Zambia has benefited from recommendations
for improving HIV care that includes the policy to test all HIV
positive patients for TB and vice versa.
£100 million UK funding to the Malawi health
Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) supports the implementation of the
national TB protocol, and guidelines that prioritise the integration
of HIV and TB services. Until 2005, the National TB Programme
operated largely independently from the main health system, but
since then, TB funding from DFID and the Global Fund has been
pooled as funding for delivery of the overall Essential Health
Package. The TB and HIV units work together to cross-refer patients
for testing and coordinate treatment regimens, although recent
findings show that due to limited access to district hospitals
there is a low uptake of Anti Retroviral Treatment (ART) by many
HIV+ patients referred on from TB treatment. The Ministry of Health
and National AIDS commission continue to work hard to increase
the number of facilities able to offer ART. By December 2007,
146,000 people had commenced ART in Malawi.
3. Q. 1162-1164 How the UK Government
applies its criteria to decide whether to reduce or suspend aid
to a recipient country government or to deliver it in a different
way (by-passing the national government) to ensure the aid reaches
people who need it. In particular, how did the UK provide aid
in response to the humanitarian crisis in Uganda in 2005. Did
the UK Government continue to provide aid through the Government
in Kampala even though it was clear that this Government was not
interested in ensuring that the money got through to the people
in Northern Uganda who needed it?
DFID only uses Poverty Reducing Budget Support
(PRBS) with partner governments committed to poverty reduction,
improving public financial management, good governance and human
rights and when PRBS will achieve greater impact than other forms
of aid.
DFID is alert to the risk of corruption or misuse.
DFID protects its funds in three ways:
— Assessing risks carefully before
we give budget support.
— Addressing underlying problems—support
to strengthen public financial management systems.
— If necessary, using short-term safeguards
eg extra audits.
If something happens to bring into significant
doubt the partner government's commitment to public financial
management reform and accountability, DFID will then reassess
if budget support remains appropriate. If necessary, we reduce
or suspend aid, or deliver it in a different way.
In December 2005 DFID reallocated £15 million
of the bilateral aid programme to help the UN provide humanitarian
relief in northern Uganda (bringing our total expenditure on the
humanitarian effort in the North to £20 million in 2005-06).
At the same time we decided to reduce our planned disbursement
through the Government by £15 million.
Since early 2006 the government system of allocating
resources has resulted in a significant increase in financing
to the North. It is estimated that regular central government
transfers to northern districts affected by the conflict with
the Lord's Resistance Army increased from about US$ 97 million
in 2005-06 to about US$ 114 million in 2006-07.
4. Q. 1165-1167 A list of the ten other
donors that the UK is working with, through MOPAN, to develop
a common approach to multi-lateral effectiveness.
The 10 donors are Austria, Canada, Denmark,
Finland, France, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland.
The Republic of Korea, Spain and Australia have recently applied
for membership and have been invited to join as observers.
5. Q. 1174 The seven countries where the
UK is funding/piloting the Medicines Transparency Alliance.
Ghana
Uganda
Zambia
Jordan
Kyrgyzstan
Peru
Philippines.
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