Written question asked by Fleur Anderson (Labour) on Friday, 13 October 2023, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 18 October 2023 (named day). It was answered by Andrew Mitchell (Conservative) on Thursday, 19 October 2023 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Antimicrobial Resistance

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to (a) reassess his Department's funding allocation for overseas aid and (b) prioritise spending on the improvement of (i) water, (ii) sanitation and (iii) hygiene infrastructure in healthcare facilities to tackle antimicrobial resistance.

Answer: The UK remains committed to supporting access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), including in healthcare facilities. The UK-funded Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition supported 14,800 facilities with WASH supplies and trained 460,000 health workers on hygiene improvements. We also help rally international attention on antimicrobial resistance through the global taskforce on WASH in Healthcare Facilities, working with World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other partners. The Statistics on International Development publication confirmed that UK bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend on WASH totalled £46 million in 2022. Multilateral spend on WASH was £63 million in 2021. At this stage we are unable to confirm FCDO's future allocations to overseas aid or WASH specifically. The FCDO works closely with the Treasury on our aid budget.

Secondary information