To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have received any reports of border incursions and attacks at Nyaigamuda, Goloko, Pure, and Andejo in South Sudan; if so, what assessment they have made of those reports, and of whether any seizures of territory have been motivated by the presence of valuable...

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have received any reports of border incursions and attacks at Nyaigamuda, Goloko, Pure, and Andejo in South Sudan; if so, what assessment they have made of those reports, and of whether any seizures of territory have been motivated by the presence of valuable...

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Brazil; and what measures they are taking to develop an Ebola vaccine.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Brazil; and what measures they are taking to develop an Ebola vaccine.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of issuing travel guidance covering Ebola to people travelling to Uganda.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of issuing travel guidance covering Ebola to people travelling to Uganda.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) the Democratic Republic of the Congo and (b) Uganda to manage Ebola outbreaks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) the Democratic Republic of the Congo and (b) Uganda to manage Ebola outbreaks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made on the potential merits of issuing travel guidance for people travelling to Uganda covering Ebola.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made on the potential merits of issuing travel guidance for people travelling to Uganda covering Ebola.

I would like to update the House on the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the United Kingdom’s response.

On 15 May, the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) declared an Ebola outbreak following confirmation of the Bundibugyo strain. Uganda also confirmed a case...

I would like to update the House on the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the United Kingdom’s response.

On 15 May, the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) declared an Ebola outbreak following confirmation of the Bundibugyo strain. Uganda also confirmed a case...

Yes, that is what we are doing. I will be in the region next week and we speak regularly with our ministerial counterparts in the DRC and Uganda. I think some of the system-strengthening work that has taken place since the 2014 outbreak will help, but I am sure the noble Baroness understands the rather unique situation in the DRC and that this outbreak has happened in the east. We see a lack of territorial control over parts of that region by the Government in Kinshasa and the proliferation of armed groups in that part of the world.

Yes, that is what we are doing. I will be in the region next week and we speak regularly with our ministerial counterparts in the DRC and Uganda. I think some of the system-strengthening work that has taken place since the 2014 outbreak will help, but I am sure the noble Baroness understands the rather unique situation in the DRC and that this outbreak has happened in the east. We see a lack of territorial control over parts of that region by the Government in Kinshasa and the proliferation of armed groups in that part of the world.

My Lords, I welcome the noble Baroness’s statement and particularly her proactive engagement on the ground. One of the experiences from the Covid pandemic was the link-up between the private sector and our international partners to scale up with India. Based on the response she gave earlier, that there is still development needed, what representations and engagement are being made, particularly with the private sector and those countries, such as India, that can scale up vaccine production?

My Lords, I welcome the noble Baroness’s statement and particularly her proactive engagement on the ground. One of the experiences from the Covid pandemic was the link-up between the private sector and our international partners to scale up with India. Based on the response she gave earlier, that there is still development needed, what representations and engagement are being made, particularly with the private sector and those countries, such as India, that can scale up vaccine production?

It is in an early phase and we are looking at trying to get a vaccine developed. I do not know whether that is specifically with India or with private sector partners, but it may be that a vaccine that has already been tested is effective against this strain. We hope that is the case, though there is an immediate need to get equipment into the region and distributed. We need to make sure that it is used correctly and to plan for how we will be able to distribute vaccine, as and when it is available, because the major barrier here is the complexity and the conflict going on. As the noble Lord will know, many different non-state armed groups are present in the area.

It is in an early phase and we are looking at trying to get a vaccine developed. I do not know whether that is specifically with India or with private sector partners, but it may be that a vaccine that has already been tested is effective against this strain. We hope that is the case, though there is an immediate need to get equipment into the region and distributed. We need to make sure that it is used correctly and to plan for how we will be able to distribute vaccine, as and when it is available, because the major barrier here is the complexity and the conflict going on. As the noble Lord will know, many different non-state armed groups are present in the area.

My Lords, given what the Minister has rightly said about the systemic challenges facing aid workers and others in the east of the DRC, will she look carefully during her visit to the region at the effect of the large numbers of displaced people now in refugee camps? Those are the perfect breeding ground for diseases of any kind, but especially of Ebola. What is being done to assess the role that ISIS affiliates are now playing? I suspect that she has seen some of the material I sent her recently about attacks on minorities, including the burning down of churches, and on people living in remote villages. What more can we do about that?

My Lords, given what the Minister has rightly said about the systemic challenges facing aid workers and others in the east of the DRC, will she look carefully during her visit to the region at the effect of the large numbers of displaced people now in refugee camps? Those are the perfect breeding ground for diseases of any kind, but especially of Ebola. What is being done to assess the role that ISIS affiliates are now playing? I suspect that she has seen some of the material I sent her recently about attacks on minorities, including the burning down of churches, and on people living in remote villages. What more can we do about that?

What we can do about that is a very big question, but I visited Beni in the east of the DRC earlier this year and I know exactly the context that the noble Lord describes. We have the ADF, FDLR and M23 there; we may be able to engage with some of these groups, or maybe others can, but with others it will be far more difficult. Where those actors have control, in the end they will be responsible for responding to this outbreak. That injects a whole other level of complexity and difficulty into this, but we cannot let that put us off doing what needs to be done to save lives from this outbreak.

What we can do about that is a very big question, but I visited Beni in the east of the DRC earlier this year and I know exactly the context that the noble Lord describes. We have the ADF, FDLR and M23 there; we may be able to engage with some of these groups, or maybe others can, but with others it will be far more difficult. Where those actors have control, in the end they will be responsible for responding to this outbreak. That injects a whole other level of complexity and difficulty into this, but we cannot let that put us off doing what needs to be done to save lives from this outbreak.

My Lords, the outbreak of Ebola in this region is extremely concerning, and we welcome the funding that the Minister has referenced. Can she perhaps say what support is available to any UK citizens who are in the region, notwithstanding the difficulties of access to the eastern region of the DRC, which we all know about? What other consular support is available in these areas to any of our people?

My Lords, the outbreak of Ebola in this region is extremely concerning, and we welcome the funding that the Minister has referenced. Can she perhaps say what support is available to any UK citizens who are in the region, notwithstanding the difficulties of access to the eastern region of the DRC, which we all know about? What other consular support is available in these areas to any of our people?

Our team in Kinshasa is in crisis mode, as noble Lords would expect, and ready to provide any support. There are very few UK nationals in that part of the world because of the danger from the conflict, but there are some UK medics—I have met them—and well-tested protocols are in place should they wish to return to the UK. We know how to do this; we are experienced in doing it and, obviously, our priority is to keep the UK and our citizens safe.

Our team in Kinshasa is in crisis mode, as noble Lords would expect, and ready to provide any support. There are very few UK nationals in that part of the world because of the danger from the conflict, but there are some UK medics—I have met them—and well-tested protocols are in place should they wish to return to the UK. We know how to do this; we are experienced in doing it and, obviously, our priority is to keep the UK and our citizens safe.

My Lords, the vaccine that exists is effective only against Ebola Zaire. The strain now operating has had two previous minor breakouts; Bundibugyo is the name of the strain. I hope the Minister will agree that our hope lies in developing a vaccine as quickly as we can, which might take up to six or nine months. But we have the knowledge of the vaccine against the Zaire strain, which is an advantage. The outbreak has now reached Kampala, which is worrying, but the Ugandans are apt, as they demonstrated previously, at isolating the cases and stopping the outbreak going any further. I hope it will not spread any further.

My Lords, the vaccine that exists is effective only against Ebola Zaire. The strain now operating has had two previous minor breakouts; Bundibugyo is the name of the strain. I hope the Minister will agree that our hope lies in developing a vaccine as quickly as we can, which might take up to six or nine months. But we have the knowledge of the vaccine against the Zaire strain, which is an advantage. The outbreak has now reached Kampala, which is worrying, but the Ugandans are apt, as they demonstrated previously, at isolating the cases and stopping the outbreak going any further. I hope it will not spread any further.

There is nothing that the noble Lord just said for me to disagree with. I can assure him, though, that two cases were identified in Kampala and the others tested have been negative. He is absolutely right about the development of a vaccine.

There is nothing that the noble Lord just said for me to disagree with. I can assure him, though, that two cases were identified in Kampala and the others tested have been negative. He is absolutely right about the development of a vaccine.

My Lords, further to my noble friend’s question, we know what positive impact UK official development assistance has in crises such as these. Will the Minister rule out any further cuts to UK ODA in this Parliament?

My Lords, further to my noble friend’s question, we know what positive impact UK official development assistance has in crises such as these. Will the Minister rule out any further cuts to UK ODA in this Parliament?

If it were for me to rule it out, I would do so right now, but the noble Lord is right about the impact of UK official development assistance. That is what it is for, which is why we have responded quite so quickly. We were the first donors to get in there and make these very fast decisions, as soon as the outbreak was identified. We are good at working with these agencies. Health is a priority for us and this is exactly what our development assistance ought to be used for.

If it were for me to rule it out, I would do so right now, but the noble Lord is right about the impact of UK official development assistance. That is what it is for, which is why we have responded quite so quickly. We were the first donors to get in there and make these very fast decisions, as soon as the outbreak was identified. We are good at working with these agencies. Health is a priority for us and this is exactly what our development assistance ought to be used for.

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the World Health Organization’s designation of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda as a public health emergency of international concern.

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the World Health Organization’s designation of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda as a public health emergency of international concern.