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HIV Treatment

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much, on average, full treatment for one HIV sufferer costs over the course of a year in the last five years. [37937]

Clare Short: There are currently 17 different separate licensed anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs which can be used in a variety of combinations. Moreover, different countries use different types of drugs and treatments to help treat people living with HIV/AIDS.

The retail cost of all three classes of drugs in developed countries averages between $10,000 and $14,000 per year. Costa Rica has negotiated a price equivalent to $7,000 per patient per year for ARV. Nigeria has launched the largest ARV treatment programme in Africa, using a generic form of ARV at a cost of $350 per patient per year. In Brazil, where some ARV drugs are produced locally, triple combination therapy costs $1,460 per patient per year, whereas in Thailand the cost of triple combination therapy is over $4,100 per patient per year. In addition to drugs costs there are laboratory monitoring costs (estimated at around US$400 per annum in Uganda) and other associated service delivery costs.

My Department is working with the international community to facilitate a framework for differential pricing, which would provide essential medicines to the developing world at substantially lower cost. However, the cost of ARV represents only part of the cost of treatment for people living with HIV. For example, an essential pre-requisite to any programme to increase access to medicines is widespread availability of voluntary counselling and testing. Adequate access to treatment for opportunistic infections such as tuberculosis, is also crucial. Furthermore, building capacity to use ARVs effectively cannot be achieved overnight, and will require substantial and sustained investment in health systems to reduce resistance to the drugs and to maximise the utility of the drugs in the short and long term.

SIDEX

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what conditions to the loan to LNM/Ispat for the purchase of SIDEX were (a) sought and (b) obtained by the British representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. [44576]

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Clare Short: None. The EBRD negotiates appropriate financial and other conditions with individual clients. In accordance with its mandate, these typically include conditions designed to enhance both the transition and environmental impact of the project.

Young People

Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on what subjects and on which dates her Department has consulted organisations representing young people; and if she will list such organisations. [52498]

Clare Short: The Department for International Development formally consulted organisations representing young people specifically on the draft of its Institutional Strategy Paper on the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), which was published in 2000. The Department also included such organisations in its consultations on the Government's White Paper on "Eliminating World Poverty: Making Globalisation Work for the Poor" in 2000 and on nine Target Strategy Papers between 1999 and 2001. The Department has frequent informal contacts in the course of its business with a wide range of civil society organisations, in the UK and overseas, representing the interests of children. During 2001 and 2002 the Department has held a number of consultation meetings with civil society organisations representing young people to discuss the United Kingdom's position on the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children, which will take place next month, and its draft outcomes document.

Overseas Projects

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the value for money achieved by the Primary Schools Education Management Development Project in Botswana. [49170]

Clare Short: DFID has contributed technical assistance worth £1.2 million to support the Government of Botswana in strengthening the management of primary education. DFID and the Botswana Government have reviewed progress regularly to ensure value for money. The last major review of the project was conducted in May 2001 and another is planned for later this year. The project has been effective in training school principals and school management teams, and we regard it as a successful collaboration between our two Governments.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the value for money achieved by the Shapla: Nursing, Medical Education and Public/Private Partnership projects in Bangladesh. [49173]

Clare Short: These are three components of DFID's support to the Government of Bangladesh's health sector reforms. The contractors responsible for delivering the outputs of the components were jointly selected by DFID and Government of Bangladesh on the basis of technical competency and overall cost.

They are subject to ongoing monitoring by our Bangladesh office and have, in addition been subject to two independent, external reviews in May 2000 and May 2001. The standard of work undertaken has been judged

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to be consistently high and DFID is satisfied that this support is achieving good value for money and is producing demonstrable results.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the value for money achieved by the Humanitarian Assistance Services Projects. [49182]

Clare Short: The Humanitarian Assistance Services contract was awarded under a process of international competitive bidding to the Crown Agents in 1999. The contract is currently in the process of being re-tendered.

We are satisfied that the contract has provided a competitively priced service which has enabled DFID to respond to numerous crises around the globe, most recently in, for example, Afghanistan, Gujarat and Mozambique.

During 1999–2000 the National Audit Office conducted a value for money audit of DFID's response to the Kosovo crisis, this included the role played by the Crown Agents under the Humanitarian Services Contract. The report acknowledged the leading role played by DFID during the crisis.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the value for money achieved by the Restructuring Forests of the former Homeland Administrations Project in the Republic of South Africa. [49191]

Clare Short: DFID is providing technical assistance worth £2.95 million to South Africa's Department of Water Affairs and Forestry to support its policy of restructuring the forests of the Former Homeland Administrations in the way that addresses social objectives. DFID and the South African Government have reviewed progress regularly to ensure value for money. The project was last formally reviewed in May 2001. This programme has made an important contribution to the effective management of these forests, which are very important to some of the poorest areas of South Africa.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the value for money achieved by the Family Protection Project Managers Project in Jordan. [49197]

Clare Short: Officials from my Department visited Jordan in February to monitor the Family Protection Project. Their report identified significant progress as having been made over the past year, and appropriate action has been agreed with the project managers for ensuring that this continues to be the case during the remainder of the project.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the value for money achieved by the Social Marketing of Condoms Project in Mozambique. [49207]

Clare Short: The Mozambique Social Marketing Condoms Project is regularly monitored by the implementing partner, Population Services International in collaboration with the funding partners, DFID, The Netherlands and USAID. We believe that cost effectiveness is very important, and one of the key indicators monitored is the cost per condom sold. Higher

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sales reduce the cost per condom, and although final cost figures for 2001 are not yet available, last year saw the highest sales since the project began. An evaluation of the project is planned for the third quarter of this year, when cost effectiveness and value for money will be among key issues examined.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the value for money achieved by the Guyana Land Administration Support Programme in Guyana. [49186]

Clare Short: My Department undertook a review of DFID support to the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission in November 2001. The project continues to meet its objectives cost effectively.

New Deal

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many people employed by the non-departmental public bodies for which she is responsible under the new deal for young people in each of the last four years have subsequently (a) found unsubsidised employment for more than 13 weeks and (b) returned to jobseeker's allowance or other benefits. [49608]

Clare Short: My Department is responsible for three non-departmental public bodies. None of them employ any support or other staff, and the question of using the new deal does not arise.

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