St Albans MP Anne Main used Prime Minister’s Questions this week to raise concerns about countries reneging on emergency aid spending pledges. Mrs Main asked Prime Minister Theresa May what more the government can do to ensure countries meet their foreign aid pledges.

The Prime Minister shared Mrs Main’s concerns and said that the UK ‘puts its money where its mouth is and goes out and helps people around the world.’ Mrs May reaffirmed her commitment to UK support for the Rohingya refugees and said that she will ‘continue to put pressure on all those countries that say they will do something but do not actually deliver the money.’

Mrs Main, alongside Rushanara Ali MP, who jointly chair the all-party group on the Rohingya in parliament have heard evidence from NGOs who have expressed concerns that the required aid budget for the Rohingya crisis is severely underfunded and some countries have not followed through on spending commitments to the crisis. 

The 2018 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya called for $950 million to maintain support for the refugees. So far, that total is only 21% funded and aid workers in the camps are concerned at the impact the underfunding will have on food provisions, especially during the ongoing monsoon season.

Mrs Main said, ‘Countries that do not deliver on their aid commitments should be ashamed so I was pleased to hear the Prime Minister will pressure all nations to fulfil their pledges. It’s no good when countries are talking big on the world stage but then not putting their hand in their pocket to deliver on vital humanitarian aid when it is so desperately needed. Frankly, the pledges do not amount to enough anyway as the budget required to support the Rohingya in 2018 remains heavily underfunded.’

‘Of course it is encouraging that the UK follows through on its commitments to emergency aid for situations like this, but we also need to encourage other nations, who do not give anywhere near enough, to step up to the plate and help fund the relief effort to this harrowing humanitarian crisis.'