BOND Mental Health and Psychosocial Disability (MHPSD) sub-group: International Development Committee Inquiry Submission on FCDO and Disability Inclusive Development 2023

Acronyms

DDG                            Disability and Development Group

DFID                            Department for International Development

DHSC                            Department of Health and Social Care

FCDO                            Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

MHPSD              Mental Health and Psychosocial Disability

ODA                            Overseas Development Aid

Background

The Bond Mental Health and Psychosocial Disability (MHPSD) sub-group is a sub-group of the Bond Disability and Development Group (DDG). It exists to provide a forum for Bond members to share, learn and discuss mental health and the rights of people with psychosocial disabilities in both policy and practice. It was involved in the development of DFID’s “Approach and Theory of Change to Mental Health and Psychosocial Support”, published in August 2020.

The Bond MHPSD sub-group has focussed its response to question numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8 of the inquiry.

Question 1: The adequacy of FCDO’s new disability and inclusion rights strategy as a framework for approaching disability-inclusive development.

The new disability and inclusion rights strategy references the Approach and Theory of Change to Mental Health and Psychosocial Support several times, yet there has been a total lack of action on this since its publication. The Bond MHPSD sub-group was involved in producing the Approach and Theory of Change, but we have struggled to get engagement from FCDO since. And we are disappointed by the lack of progress on mental health in the years since the Approach and Theory of Change’s publication. For example, the one major UK ODA investment in mental health-specific programme funding (in Ghana) was cut early; other recommendations like measuring of wellbeing across FCDO-funded programmes has not happened.

Question 2: The adequacy of FCDO’s spending on disability-inclusive programmes and the impact of cuts to ODA programmes on people with disabilities.

We are not aware of any funding specifically for mental health from FCDO since it was formed (though some programme and research funding did occur at the end of the DFID period). Additionally, the UK government’s funding of mental health work in Ghana under the ‘Leave No One Behind’ programme has been brought to an abrupt end since the release of the FCDO disability and inclusion rights strategy (while this Ghana programme is itself referenced on page 27 of the strategy).

Question 3: FCDO’s work to encourage and facilitate the participation of people with disabilities, and relevant advocacy groups, in developing its strategy and approach.

People with mental health issues are an underrepresented group in development. We (the Bond Mental Health and Psychosocial Disability sub-group) have tried to get a meeting or engagement with FCDO for a while now, but to no avail. We are a group with several members who work directly with people with mental health issues in the global south. Yet despite our efforts we have not been able to get any engagement from FCDO. As far as we know, there has been no participation of people with mental health issues specifically in FCDO’s development of its strategy and approach since the Approach and Theory of Change was developed. As a group we would be happy to recommend people from the movement of people with mental health and psychosocial disabilities who would make valuable contributions.

Question 4: The extent to which other ODA-spending departments are ensuring that their ODA expenditure is inclusive of people with disabilities.

From Oct 2019 to Sep 2023, the UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has spent £6m on contributing to Grand Challenges Canada’s funding of global mental health: https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/projects/GB-GOV-10-GCC/summary. This implies that UK government / FCDO does not have the resources or capacity to administer its own mental health ODA, and instead is effectively outsourcing it to a third party. If this is the case, there should be investment in resourcing within FCDO specifically on mental health and psychosocial disabilities.

Question 8: FCDO’s progress in implementing the Committee’s previous recommendations, and the commitments made at the Global Disability Summit.

We welcome the commitments made by the FCDO at the Global Disability Summit 2022. While they are generally directed towards all people with disabilities, we are concerned that the specific needs of people with psychosocial disabilities – recognised as a particularly under-represented group – are not taken into account. FCDO needs to have specific expertise and commitment from leadership in order to ensure that these commitments are equally applied across all disability groups, including people with mental health and psychosocial disabilities.

BOND MHPSD sub-group: International Development Committee Inquiry Submission                                                        2