<p>There must be an explicit and visible consideration of, and support to, women and girls across DFID’s response to COVID-19. DFID has committed an additional £10 million to the United Nation’s Population Fund COVID-19 response to strengthen health systems to deliver sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence services, support supply chains for lifesaving commodities and deliver community engagement activities. We also recently committed £20 million to the UN Children’s Fund to help keep children in developing countries safe and learning throughout the crisis. DFID has also launched a call for proposals under our Rapid Response Facility, which required all projects to mainstream gender, protection and safeguarding.</p><p>DFID is flexing existing programmes to ensure we can better respond to the specific impacts women and girls are facing as a result of COVID-19. For example, the Women's Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) programme is our flagship women’s sexual and reproductive health programme and provides lifesaving services to women in 27 countries around the world. WISH is finding innovative ways to keep delivering desperately-needed services and supplies during this pandemic, while also supporting efforts to stop the spread of the disease.</p>