Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Preventable Child Deaths

Wednesday 29 January 2020 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Minister welcomes the UNICEF UK report and acknowledges the Department's positive impact on child safety.
  • Government aims to end preventable maternal, new-born, and child deaths by 2030.
  • UK plans to host GAVI replenishment later in the year to support child health initiatives.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Wera Hobhouse Lib Dem Bath
Children & Families
Context

The UNICEF UK report highlights the importance of implementing measures to end preventable child deaths by 2030. The questioner seeks clarity on how the government plans to implement these recommendations.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to implement the findings of the UNICEF UK report on ending preventable child deaths?

Answer from Alok Sharma

I welcome the report and its recognition that my Department is a force for good that saves children's lives and makes a real difference. The report is in line with the Government's ambition to end preventable maternal, new-born and child deaths by 2030.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific steps being taken by the Department are not detailed.

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Q2 Wera Hobhouse Lib Dem Bath
Children & Families
Context

The questioner emphasizes the importance of global leadership in achieving sustainable development target 3.2, which aims to end preventable child deaths by 2030.

Question

Without global leadership, we will not meet sustainable development target 3.2 and end preventable child deaths by 2030. Does the Secretary of State agree that we should place child health on a level footing with the Government's commitment to girls' education?

Answer from Alok Sharma

The hon. Lady cares deeply about this issue, which I completely understand. We made a manifesto commitment to tackle preventable deaths by 2030. I hope in the coming weeks to set out a detailed strategy on how we will do that.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific agreement or action regarding placing child health on par with girls' education is not explicitly addressed.

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Q3 Tim Loughton Con
Foreign Affairs Children & Families
Context

The UK has contributed to a significant reduction in the number of children dying before their fifth birthday in developing countries, but UNICEF projects that 52 million children will still die by 2030 due to issues like pneumonia and lack of access to vaccines.

Question

The UK Government have an outstanding record on contributing to the 50% fall in the number of children in developing countries who die before their fifth birthday but, even with that progress, UNICEF calculates that 52 million children will still die before the age of five by 2030. What more can we do to provide additional leadership to make sure we get rid of diseases like pneumonia, as well as the lack of access to basic vaccines, which will help to end this blight?

Answer from Alok Sharma

We support organisations such as the Global Fund and, as my hon. Friend knows, the UK will host the replenishment of GAVI later this year. He is right to highlight this important issue.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific actions or commitments to address preventable child deaths are not detailed.

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