Corporate report

Government response to ICAI recommendations on 'the UK aid response to COVID-19: a rapid review'

Published 16 December 2021

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

The UK is one of the largest donors to the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have committed up to £1.3 billion of UK aid to help end the pandemic as quickly as possible and to address its impacts.

The Government welcomes the Independent Commission for Aid Impact’s (ICAI) review of the UK aid response. Independent scrutiny is integral to ensuring that our policy and programming deliver maximum impact and value for money.

ICAI’s review assessed the credibility, coherence and efficiency of the UK’s aid response to the pandemic. It concluded that the initial UK aid response was rapid, credible and appropriate, drawing on learning from previous crises and the experience and knowledge of staff, and benefiting from earlier investments in preparedness for health emergencies. ICAI found that initial priorities were well grounded in the evidence available and that the Government moved quickly to put in place mechanisms to monitor emerging COVID-19 risks and vulnerabilities.

ICAI conclude that the UK government made an important contribution to global efforts to develop COVID-19 vaccines and that the UK clearly contributed significantly to an unprecedented level of international cooperation, for instance through its early contributions to humanitarian appeals and funding for COVAX to support equitable access to vaccines. ICAI note that in addition to the central UK aid response, a significant quantity of the UK aid programme was repurposed at country level to address the wider health, humanitarian and economic impacts of the pandemic.

ICAI’s report notes that the Government’s aid response to the pandemic was impacted both by the temporary aid reductions made and by the contraction of the UK economy during the pandemic. Its recommendations focus on accelerating the supply of COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries and supporting their equitable rollout; the role of specialist staff in decision-making; and the drawing back of overseas staff to the UK during crises.

Government response to recommendations

Recommendation 1

Building on its investments in vaccine development, the UK government should now do more to accelerate the supply of COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries and support their equitable rollout to vulnerable populations.

Response: partially accept

From the start of the pandemic, we have worked to support equitable access. More needs to be done to accelerate the supply and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries. This is why the UK is making national commitments, supporting multilateral cooperation and using its G7 Presidency to intensify efforts to vaccinate the world in 2022.

Our investment in the research and development of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has made a critical contribution to global vaccination efforts. Over 1 billion doses have now been delivered globally at cost, with two-thirds going to lower- and middle-income countries. We are one of the largest donors to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), which supports access to COVID-19 vaccines for 92 low- and middle-income countries. Our £548 million commitment will support the COVAX AMC to deliver up to 1.8 billion doses to these countries by early 2022.

Under the UK’s Presidency, G7 Leaders’ have committed to intensify efforts to vaccinate the world by the end of 2022. The UK is working closely with international partners to deliver this ambitious goal. This includes efforts to increase vaccine supply, strengthen downstream delivery and develop more sustainable approaches to financing vaccines. Next steps will be discussed at a meeting hosted by the Foreign Secretary in December with G7 Foreign and Development Ministers. The G7 will share and finance one billion vaccine doses over the next year. The UK will donate 100 million doses, with 80% going to COVAX to enable it to provide further support to countries in most need.

COVID-19 vaccines donated through COVAX are administered by Gavi and their Alliance partners, who work with governments to ensure robust and transparent distribution and reporting plans are in place to ensure priority groups are reached. We are working through the governing boards to ensure that Gavi and World Bank funding available to support in-country delivery is approved and disbursed in a timely manner. We are working with COVAX and technical partners (WHO, UNICEF), and through bilateral programmes and the FCDO diplomatic network to identify and tackle bottlenecks that can be addressed through focused funding, equipment or technical assistance available through COVAX, the World Bank and others. For UK bilateral donations, we have sought assurances from recipients that they have the capacity to roll-out doses in line with National Deployment and Vaccination Plans.

Recommendation 2

FCDO should delegate as much operational discretion as possible to specialist staff close to the point of programme delivery to ensure the UK’s COVID-19 response is nimble, adaptable and fully informed by the local operating context.

Response: accept

During the temporary reduction in aid spending and the contraction of the UK economy Ministers needed to take decisions centrally about the best overall portfolio to meet demands. This was based on advice from country teams and central thematic expertise. This approach ensured Official Development Assistance (ODA) resources across the world could be used in the most efficient and effective way, delivering HMG priorities whilst responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While decision-making on overall spending was unavoidably taken centrally in consultation with staff at Posts, programme staff had the flexibility to adapt existing FCDO bilateral programmes to support communities affected by COVID-19. In 2020, FCDO adapted existing programming amounting to more than £700 million of ODA in response to the direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic.

Following the creation of the FCDO, the FCDO Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) was established, drawing on the former DFID Smart Rules and the former FCO equivalent. The PrOF provides the framework, mandatory rules and guiding principles for the implementation of FCDO delivered programming. This sets out how the Department maintains high standards of programme delivery, risk management and due diligence in the wide range of difficult places we work. The PrOF sets out how FCDO programme teams can continue to take evidence-based decisions, apply professional judgement and learn and share lessons while ensuring FCDO remains properly accountable to UK taxpayers in everything we do. The PrOF is published on GOV.UK.

Recommendation 3

FCDO should review and adapt its drawdown strategy to be more clearly differentiated by risk and individual staff preferences to guide repatriation of staff to home countries during future crises.

Response: partially accept

The FCDO approaches its duty of care to staff with the utmost seriousness. Decision-making on staff drawdowns from overseas Posts in crises is based on whether we can continue to meet our legal obligation to take all reasonable steps to protect staff from reasonably foreseeable harm. In some cases this may not align with individual preferences.

We agree that drawdown strategy must be differentiated by risk. The FCDO’s approach to staff drawdown during the pandemic was based on a robust process of risk analysis. Drawdown decisions were taken on a Post-by-Post basis informed by the level of risk, with Posts determining the business-critical roles necessary to continue delivery of HMG objectives given local circumstances. Around half of DFID’s Home Civil Service Staff overseas were not drawn down during the pandemic. We routinely engage with other donor governments and partner organisations to share information on risks and approaches to managing staff safety.

Staff who returned to the UK continued to work remotely and expert local staff remained in country. In many cases the ability of staff to operate in-country would have been significantly constrained by the pandemic and by the restrictions put in place in response to it. Staff who were drawn back to the UK returned to their overseas posts as soon as it was possible, with decision-making based on the changing risk picture. Most had returned to their overseas locations by September 2020.

The FCDO is developing a new repatriation policy for the merged organisation which recognises the impacts of drawdowns on staff and their families and the support we will provide to staff. Clear policy advice continues to be available to Posts to inform decisions on risks and duty of care towards our staff and their families.