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HIV/AIDS (Africa)

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to increase spending on tackling HIV/AIDS in Africa. [40663]

Hilary Benn: DFID spent over £55 million in Africa on HIV/AIDS programmes and related health systems strengthening in the financial year 2000–01.

So far this year (2001–02), we have committed an additional £180 million to tackle HIV/AIDS in Africa. A further $200 million (£140 million approximately) has been pledged by the UK to the Global Health Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria, of which half is expected to be spent on HIV/AIDS work.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money her Department is spending on tackling HIV/AIDS in each country in Africa. [40664]

Hilary Benn: The table shows the amount of money spent by DFID on HIV/AIDS in Africa in 2000–01, and the level of additional commitment for 2001–02, broken down by country.

HIV/AIDS spend (pounds sterling)—includes health systems strengthening and reproductive health programme spend
£000

CountryTotal spent 2000–01Additional projects 2001–02
Africa regional1,78223,898
Angola106—
Central Africa regional62—
Congo, Democratic Republic—379
Ethiopia183300
Ghana11225,000
Kenya6783,509
Malawi4,60929,835
Mali25—
Mozambique6,39512,739
Namibia31—
Nigeria65352,959
Rwanda—3,000
Senegal—250
Sierra Leone3061,850
Somali Democratic Republic5—
South Africa, Republic of2,80315,218
Southern Africa15—
Southern Africa Development Coordination Committee594600
Swaziland72—
Tanzania4,647—
Togo173—
Uganda324686
Zambia28,219169
Zimbabwe3,29812,915
Total55,092183,307

These figures represent direct project/programme costs and do not include our financial support to NGOs and international institutions such as UNAIDS and WHO, in support of HIV/AIDS work across Africa.

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Health Strategies

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of intervention strategies in reducing maternal mortality and morbidity in developing countries. [43998]

Hilary Benn: Making an effective contribution to the Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality by three quarters between 1990 and 2015 is a key objective in my Department's Public Service Agreement.

WHO are the lead international agency and we are supporting their work to determine the most successful and cost-effective safe motherhood packages. DFID is funding research designed to identify the most effective interventions to help reduce maternal mortality and morbidity in the developing world, including trials of vitamin A supplementation and magnesium sulphate for pre-eclampsia. We are also looking to draw lessons from the large safer motherhood programmes we support in Nepal, Malawi, Kenya, Pakistan and Bolivia.

Evidence to date indicates that increasing and sustaining the quality of midwifery and obstetric services is very likely to result in reduced maternal mortality. Evidence also shows that strengthening health systems is also a key prerequisite for improving safe motherhood. DFID has committed over £1 billion to this work since 1997.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she takes to (a) analyse the methods and policies by which low income countries achieve good health outcomes in life expectancy and child mortality and (b) use these countries and the methodology they apply to health policy when formulating health strategies for other developing countries. [43999]

Hilary Benn: DFID attaches great importance to learning and sharing lessons form successful strategies in developing countries to improve health, particularly of the poor. DFID's ability to feed country experience into international policy making, using our network of in-country health experts, is widely recognised as one of its institutional strengths. We are further contributing to the international effort by:


Lessons learned as a result of these efforts are used to help developing countries develop and refine their own multi-sectoral national programmes and plans for better health and poverty reduction. This is increasingly done in the context of Sector Wide Approaches and Poverty Reduction Strategies.

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ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

CERRIE

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if she will list the members of the Working Group established to take forward the Consultative Exercise on Radiation Risk from Interval Emitters; what the remit of CERRIE is; what resources are available to support CERRIE's work; and whether CERRIE meetings are held in public; [15575]

Mr. Meacher: The membership of the Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters (CERRIE), set up under the auspices of the Committee on the Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE), has recently been finalized and is:















The Chairman of COMARE, Professor Bryn Bridges, will attend the meetings as an observer, as will officials from the Department of Health and DEFRA.

The remit of CERRIE is, "To consider the present risk models for radiation and health that apply to exposure to radiation from internal radionuclides in the light of recent studies and any further research that might be needed."

Consultants have been appointed to provide CERRIE with an independent secretariat. Other resources, such as accommodation etc, will be provided by the two sponsoring Departments, DEFRA and DH.

CERRIE's meetings are not held in public.

Environment Agency

Mr. Pond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made towards the completion of the first five-yearly Financial, Management and Policy Review of the Environment Agency. [45324]

Mr. Meacher: I am pleased to announce that the Department is today publishing the second and final stage of this review.

The findings of the review establish a basis for a new and strategic relationship between the Agency and its Sponsors; more effective business planning and performance review;

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a sharpening of efficiency; and a wide range of actions by both the Agency and its Sponsors towards the improved delivery of environmental functions.

A copy of the report has been placed in the Library of the House.

Easter Eggs

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the confectionery manufacturing industry regarding the amount of packaging waste generated by Easter eggs; and if she will make a statement. [43214]

Margaret Beckett [holding answer 14 March 2001]: None. The requirements of the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 (as amended) apply to all packaging. The incentives to minimise and reuse packaging and the targets set for the recovery and recycling of packaging waste apply throughout the year.

Sellafield

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what dates, and where, (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have met the Irish Government to discuss the British Nuclear Fuels plant at Sellafield since 5 October 2001; and which Ministers and which Irish Government departments were involved in each meeting. [43473]

Margaret Beckett: Ministers and officials have been involved in a number of meetings since 5 October with Irish Ministers and officials at which the British Nuclear Fuel Plant at Sellafield was discussed, either as the main subject of the meeting, or as part of a wider agenda. The meetings, venues, and participants, were as follows:









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