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Mozambique
11. Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on relief operations in Mozambique. [115440]
Clare Short: The search and rescue phase is over. Relief operations continue to progress as access improves under the co-ordination of the Government of Mozambique with support from the United Nations. The priority remains to stabilise the conditions of the flood- affected population by providing sufficient shelter, food, water, sanitation and healthcare both in accommodation centres and also to those returning to their homes.
We have allocated a total of £20 million for humanitarian assistance to those affected by the floods. This money is being channelled both to ensure the effective continuation of relief efforts, but also to start immediate work on establishing emergency physical access through repairs to roads and bridges, rehabilitating health and education services and also to help re-establish the livelihoods of the affected population.
We are assessing the need for additional longer-term support. We expect to concentrate on feeder roads, seeds and small livestock restocking and on strengthening planning in health and education. We already have plans to spend around £70 million over the next two years. This can be increased if necessary. We will attend the proposed donor conference on reconstruction in Rome at the end of April.
14. Mr. McCabe:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on her Department's plans for longer-term reconstruction and development in Mozambique. [115443]
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Clare Short:
We have already committed £70 million to our development programme in Mozambique over the next two years. We are currently assessing how our plans should be modified to help Mozambique recover from the recent crisis.
12. Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance her Department plans to give to Sri Lanka in 2000-01. [115441]
Clare Short:
Our development assistance programme for Sri Lanka focuses on three areas--providing relief and rehabilitation for those affected by conflict in the North and East; improving the quality of education (particularly at primary level); and exploring how we might help promote reconciliation.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the present British aid projects in place in Sri Lanka; and what is the value of those projects. [114253]
Clare Short:
We published a Country Strategy Paper for our development assistance to Sri Lanka last year. I have placed a copy in the Library of the House. Our programme in Sri Lanka focuses on three issues important for poverty reduction: improving the quality of education, particularly at primary level; providing relief and rehabilitation for those affected by conflict; and promoting intercommunal reconciliation.
We expect to spend around £6.3 million this financial year. The major elements will be on education (£1.5 million), helping those affected by conflict (£3.5 million), and the final expenditure on some environmental projects approved under the previous Administration (£0.5 million).
25. Mr. Llwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial assistance is being given to the Government of Sri Lanka; and if she will make a statement. [115454]
Clare Short:
Our bilateral development assistance programme to Sri Lanka will be around £6.3 million in the current financial year (1999-2000); next year we expect to spend around £6 million.
We published a Country Strategy Paper for our development assistance to Sri Lanka last year. I have placed a copy in the Library of the House. Our programme in Sri Lanka focuses on three areas--improving the quality of education, particularly at primary level; providing relief and rehabilitation for those affected by conflict; and promoting intercommunal reconciliation. Not all of the programme works directly through the Government of Sri Lanka; a significant proportion is channelled through international organisations and NGOs (including UNICEF, UNHCR, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Oxfam and Save the Children Fund).
13. Mr. Gapes:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on her Department's support for the work of British volunteers. [115442]
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Clare Short:
We support five British volunteer programmes: Voluntary Service Overseas, International Co-operation for Development, Skillshare Africa, International Service and British Executive Service Overseas. In 1999-2000, we provided over £28 million to support over 2,700 volunteers working world-wide.
15. Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will set up permanent arrangements for disaster relief operations. [115444]
Clare Short:
Such arrangements and mechanisms already exist internationally through the United Nations and within the UK under the co-ordination of the Department for International Development.
16. Mr. Win Griffiths:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures are being taken by her Department to improve (a) access to and (b) the quality of, primary education in Africa. [115445]
Clare Short:
We are committed to the International Development Targets of achieving universal primary education by 2015 and gender equality in primary and secondary schooling by 2005. In our bilateral programmes in Africa, substantial resources are allocated to education for the achievement of these targets. And in my meetings with representatives of African governments, I take every opportunity to discuss their commitment to, and progress in, achieving these targets.
We believe four things need to be done if these targets are to be met and there is to be significant improvement in access to, and the quality of, primary education in Africa.
First, we need a real and sustained commitment by African governments to securing universal primary education. We need to work with those governments committed to reform, and help them put in place the structural changes necessary to deliver quality primary education for all their children.
Second, we need to address the issue of resourcing for education. There is a clear need to increase the level of resources that African governments commit to primary and basic education. Too often, the needs of the primary sector are not funded because the university sector has more vocal and politically influential constituents. In Africa, the public subsidy for a university student is 20 per cent. of a primary school pupil. And investing in primary and basic education should be a vital priority area for development assistance.
Third, we need to shift from a projects-based approach to a sector-wide approach which gives appropriate priority to basic and primary education. And we need to pull together the work of all the different development donors around a focused, agreed strategy drawn up by the government of the country concerned. This means encouraging and supporting a sound macro-economic framework which ensures a sustainable flow of resources for primary education. And it means help with reforms to ministries of education, to systems of management and teacher training, book production, and tax reform.
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The fourth thing we need to do if we are to achieve universal primary education by 2015 is to link education policy with the wider development strategy of the country, including policies on health, sanitation, livelihoods and rural transport. African governments and donors need to address the serious obstacles that often exist to enrolment, as well as the causes of drop out from school. This is particularly vital in the case of girls, who often face barriers of prejudice and discrimination, as well as economic disadvantage.
These are our priorities for Africa. This is also the agenda that we will be taking to the World Education Forum in Dakar next month. This meeting provides an important opportunity for African government, development agencies and non-governmental organisations--from North and South--to recommit themselves to a quality primary education system for all Africans.
18. Mr. Coaker:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the impact on children in Africa of the spread of AIDS. [115447]
Clare Short:
AIDS is now the biggest killer in Africa. A first major impact on children in Africa is that there are now 10.4 million African children who will have lost their mothers or both parents to AIDS. This is 90 per cent. of the global total of AIDS orphans. Many of these orphans are infected with the disease from birth or from breast feeding, reversing the gains made in child survival rates over the last 30 years. DFID is working in collaboration with NGO partners in many countries in Africa to reach AIDS orphans with the care and support they need. We are a significant contributor to UNICEF who have extensive programmes with orphans throughout Africa (£10.5 million contributed in 1998).
A second major impact of the disease is on young people. About half of all new HIV infections world-wide occur in young people aged 15-24, with girls being particularly at risk to the disease. We need to reach children and young people early on and enable them to make preventative choices. DFID is funding a number of multi-media projects such as the BBC Great Lakes Lifeline service, and a children's radio service for the Great Lakes region, Angola and Mozambique. These services seek to reach young people and children with the right health and sex education information and messages.
Finally, the impact of HIV/AIDS on the education system is staggering. In the worst affected countries, more than 30 per cent. of teachers are infected with HIV, and many more students and teachers are not able to attend school because they are needed at home to care for sick relatives. Girls are particularly affected, often being the first family members to be pulled out of education to help in the home. DFID is working with a number of Governments in sub-Saharan Africa to assess and plan for the impact of the pandemic on their education systems, and to develop effective HIV/AIDS education programmes for schools. DFID is also working with NGO partners to provide support to girls and boys whose involvement in education is threatened by HIV/AIDS.
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