United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Most read reports
- Do not criminalise aid work: The counterterrorism bill that is currently being discussed in the UK Parliament could make it illegal for British aid workers to assist civilians in many conflict zones
- British schoolchildren welcome refugees into their communities
- New asylum accommodation contracts awarded – Refugee Council response
- Immigration White Paper: Refugee Council response
- Campsfield House immigration removal centre to close - Refugee Council response
Foreword
British research has found that mega storms are three times more common than they were 35 years ago due to climate change.
UK aid, from DFID, is driving British-led analysis from the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in Oxfordshire and other global experts to track these storms, how powerful they are becoming, and why they are occurring more regularly.
This analysis is being used to identify the most vulnerable areas of Burkina Faso and Senegal that are likely to be hit by mega storms.
Jan Egeland
Britain has a long history as a leader in humanitarian action across conflict zones, through generous funding and through the dedication of British aid workers risking their lives in some of the most dangerous humanitarian crises across the globe. Our organization, the Norwegian Refugee Council, is among many organizations employing hard-working and courageous British staff. The Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill which the House of Commons will vote on this week has the potential to put this important contribution at risk.
A Bognor Regis business in West Sussex is helping children in some of the world’s poorest countries to receive lifesaving vaccines
Published 17 January 2019
From: Department for International Development and The Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP
Africa
Burkina Faso
15 December 2018: On the road between Ouagadougou and BoboDioulasso, a Canadian aid worker traveling to Togo for a humanitarian project with the organisation Zion’Gaia went missing.
No further details specified. Source: aOuaga
Burundi
24 December 2018: In Kinindo commune, Bujumbura Mairie province, Burundian soldiers arrested an employee of the NGO Handicap International while he was at a bar. There is no indication as to why he was arrested. Source: SOS Averages Burundi
It was announced earlier this week that new asylum accommodation contracts have been awarded to three major private sector providers, Serco, Mears and Clearsprings. A full list of all contracts awarded is below.
Harare – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed a £3.95 million (US$5 million) contribution from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) to its 2018/19 Lean Season Assistance programme in Zimbabwe.
The contribution will help WFP to provide cash-based food assistance to some 97,000 highly food insecure people in rural areas, and to another 19,000 in a Harare suburb.
More than a million Iraqis whose lives were devastated by Daesh safely returned home in 2018, made possible in part thanks to UK aid funded mine clearance work.
Published 5 January 2019
From: Department for International Development and The Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP
More than a million Iraqis whose lives have been devastated by Daesh safely returned home in 2018, made possible in part thanks to a huge UK aid funded mine clearance mission.
The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance globally will be double the UK population
The UK is stepping up preparations for global humanitarian crises in 2019 and harnessing the power of satellite and supercomputer technology to better predict where disasters will strike.
International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said the UK will take early action to prepare for crises where possible in 2019, not just dealing with the aftermath of dire humanitarian incidents.
At 30 November 2018, there were 1327 people in immigration detention facilities, including 1327 in immigration detention on the mainland and in immigration detention on Christmas Island.
A further 599 people were living in the community after being approved for a residence determination and 16,007 were living in the community after grant of a Bridging Visa E.
Today (Wednesday 19 December) the Government published its much awaited Immigration White Paper entitled ‘The UK’s future skills-based immigration system’ which you can read here.
In a White Paper otherwise focussed on plans for Britain to leave the European Union, and correspondingly for an end of the free movement of EEA citizens, there are several important references to the issues that impact the work of the Refugee Council. These are outlined below.
At 31 October 2018, there were 1366 people in immigration detention facilities, including 1366 in immigration detention on the mainland and no people in immigration detention on Christmas Island.
A further 485 people were living in the community after being approved for a residence determination and 16,216 were living in the community after grant of a Bridging Visa E.
At 30 September 2018, there were 1305 people in immigration detention facilities, including 1270 in immigration detention on the mainland and 35 in immigration detention on Christmas Island.
A further 444 people were living in the community after being approved for a residence determination and 16,481 were living in the community after grant of a Bridging Visa E.
Christian Aid has received £1.2 million of funding from the Department of International Development (DfID) for the co-creation phase of a pioneering new programme to help civil society better understand the needs of the most marginalised in three key countries.
The funds have been awarded from DfID’s UK Aid Connect funding stream to help civil society to better access, gather and present data with and on behalf of marginalised groups in Nigeria, Myanmar/Burma and Zimbabwe.
The first report for the current UK National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2018 to 2022 (NAP) reviews UK progress in delivering our commitments over the past year. It forms part of wider efforts to ensure that the UK’s foreign policy consciously and consistently protects and includes women and girls. It was laid in Parliament with a ministerial statement by the Foreign Secretary.
DFID has a strong strategy for using its funding and influence to strengthen UN humanitarian agencies and global humanitarian practice, but its record to date in promoting practical reforms is mixed.
There has been a sharp rise in global humanitarian need over this decade, driven by large-scale conflicts in Syria, Yemen and South Sudan and the mass expulsion of Rohingya people from Burma. Consequently, in 2017 the UK spent 10% of the aid budget on humanitarian responses (£1.4 billion).
UK aid is providing emergency food including rice, sugar and chickpeas to Palestinian refugees in Gaza who are at risk of going hungry.
UK aid is providing emergency food including rice, sugar and chickpeas to 62,000 Palestinian refugees in Gaza who are at risk of going hungry.
Refugees in Gaza are extremely vulnerable following recurrent bouts of conflict, restrictions on access and movement, high poverty rates, high unemployment levels and rising costs of living. According to the UN, around 80 per cent of Gazan households are dependent on food aid.
The UK is to supply new emergency aid to help tackle a humanitarian crisis in Cameroon, as the Minister for Africa, Harriett Baldwin calls for full humanitarian access to save thousands of children’s lives.
Fighting between Anglophone separatists and Cameroon security forces has displaced almost half a million people since tensions flared more than a year ago in the North-West and South-West regions of the country. The humanitarian situation on the ground is deteriorating, food supplies are critical and thousands of children are at risk of severe acute malnutrition.
Jerusalem, December 10, 2018– The United Kingdom is contributing an amount of up to £18 million, equivalent to US$ 23 million to the Palestinian Partnership for Infrastructure Development Multi-Donor Trust Fund (PID Fund) administered by the World Bank. This is the United Kingdom’s first contribution to the fund, joining a partnership of eight Development Partners.
Gobierno, Países contribuyentes y Naciones Unidas aprobaron dar continuidad al Fondo de Naciones Unidas con contribuciones de Alemania, Reino Unido, Noruega, Chile y el Fondo del Secretario General para la Consolidación de la Paz (PBF por sus siglas en inglés) por un total de USD$ 28,5 millones para continuar apoyando los esfuerzos del Gobierno en la consolidación de la paz de Colombia como un proyecto nacional.
