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Written question asked by Cat Smith (Labour) on Friday, 28 August 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 2 September 2026. It was answered by Kirsty McNeill (Labour) on Tuesday, 8 September 2026 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Development Aid: Tropical Diseases

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to research carried out by Dr Steven Hall and Dr Stefanie Menzies at Lancaster University, whether his Department has plans to invest in snakebite research, in the context of the UK commitment under the World Health Organisation 2030 Neglected Tropical Disease Road Map to prevent, control and eliminate NTDs by 2030.

Answer

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) announced new funding for Product Development Partnerships including support to Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) for the development of new effective treatments for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in May 2026. DNDi are mapping and assessing opportunities for collaboration across the snakebite envenoming innovation landscape. FCDO also supports applied research for NTDs through the Coalition for Operational Research on NTDs.

To make the FCDO's research and development (R&D) more open and accessible, we have created a Global Research and Technology Development (GRTD) platform that pulls together our R&D portfolio. In May 2026 the FCDO published its Areas of Research Interest (ARI) highlighting where we are keen to develop and expand our evidence. Future funding opportunities will be advertised via GRTD Funding Opportunities.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
21174
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Development aid Poisoning Research Snakes Tropical diseases
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk