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Southern Africa

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what efforts there have been to overcome delays to food imports in Zambia caused by the issuing of import licences. [88480]

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Clare Short: DFID became aware of the delay in the issuing of import licences for food imports in Zambia in mid November. The WFP brought this up at a meeting with the Deputy Minister of Finance at the end of November and he agreed to facilitate the prompt issue of import licences if this remained a problem. My officials have encouraged WFP to pursue this issue.

Import licences are currently being issued within a week of request, which is sufficient to avoid delays to the WFP food pipeline.

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made by the World Food Programme in completing the contract for the transportation of food aid to southern Africa. [88482]

Clare Short: The World Food Programme is doing an excellent job in trying to meet the needs of the most vulnerable people in the southern Africa region. Food Aid received in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe since July 2002 amounts to 344,830MT. WFP, with help from DFID, is actively trying to avoid any break in the food pipeline this month. WFP's key constraint in maintaining and building up the pipeline for the height of the humanitarian crisis in January and February is getting the funding it needs from donors. We are continuing to press other donors to do more, and the UK remains the second largest bilateral donor to the crisis.

Sustainable Crops (Africa)

Mr. Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance the UK is giving the underdeveloped countries of Africa to produce sustainable crops. [87766]

Clare Short: My Department works with developing countries to ensure that their poverty reduction strategies reflect the need to manage environmental resources, including agricultural production, sustainably. Sustainability must be seen in its widest context. It is not just a matter of the ecology of agricultural systems themselves, but the impact of these systems on the lives and opportunities of others, particularly poor consumers and producers. Sustainability in one system cannot be at the expense of sustainability in others.

My Department also supports a significant number of programmes and projects throughout the developing world that seek to provide direct benefits to poor people whose livelihoods are dependent on agriculture. Many of these include the provision of support to sustainable agriculture, either through training and knowledge/technology transfer, institutional capacity building and reform (e.g. strengthening co-operatives and other forms of producer groups and improving agricultural service delivery) or the funding of research, both national and international.

This year, DFID expects to spend about #35 million on natural resources research. While sustainability is a cornerstone for all our research programmes, a significant proportion of the programme is focused on developing and transferring technologies specifically for sustainable agriculture.

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Copies of the DFID issues paper XBetter Livelihoods for Poor People: The Role of Agriculture and the Renewable Natural Resources Research Strategy" publication are available in the Libraries of the House.

Uganda

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of the plans for privatisation of water in towns in Uganda; and if she will make a statement. [87876]

Clare Short: The central theme of the urban reform process in Uganda is private sector management of existing utilities, as opposed to privatisation. A recent

review by the World bank revealed that this shift has realised efficiency gains, with the National Water and Sanitation Corporation now showing an operating profit. DFID has a #5 million programme of support to the water and sanitation sector in Uganda, focused on financing the rural sector, but through which we also engage in policy dialogue on urban reform. In addition, we provide technical assistance to the Utility Reform Unit, which is leading the urban water reform programme. We have recently commissioned a review of lessons learned from private sector participation in the water sector, with the view to considering further support for assessing the social impact of new policies.

Urban Sewage Projects

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money her Department is giving to urban sewage projects in (a) Africa, (b) Asia and (c) Latin America in 2002–03. [87875]

Clare Short: The latest period for which details of expenditure are available is 2001–02. Allocation is defined by current DAC categories for the water sector, which do not differentiate between water supply and sanitation. My Department's bilateral expenditure on urban water supply and sanitation in the period 2001–02 was as follows:

	#
Africa	8 million
Asia	12.7 million
Central and South America	100,000

Uzbekistan

Mr. Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total amount of UK bilateral aid to Uzbekistan was in the last year for which figures are available. [87652]

Clare Short: In 2001–02, the last year for which figures are available, the total amount of UK bilateral aid to Uzbekistan was #362,000.

Funding is also provided via the EC, of which DFID's share is around 19 per cent. In 2000, our contribution to Uzbekistan was approximately #1.3 million.

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Working Group on Access to Medicines

Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what research and development into medicines and vaccines her Department's Working Group on Access to Medicines has undertaken since it was established. [88022]

Clare Short: The High Level Working Group on Access to Medicines' task, among others, was to consider ways to increase research and development (R&D) for diseases that affect poor people in the developing world. The group has now reported to the Prime Minister and put forward options for partnerships and policies that can help resolve market failure and re-shape incentives for industry, and to ensure investment by the pharmaceutical industry on R&D for diseases of poor people is monitored. One positive advance has been the Government's announcement, in April, to extend tax relief to companies involved in R&D for HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria relevant to the developing world.

The group recognised that investment in R&D for childhood diseases and six additional tropical diseases remains critically short. My Department currently invests in a number of R&D partnerships in this area and will continue to look at policy options that can further increase R&D for neglected diseases. The Government are taking forward a High Level Working Group recommendation to look at the potential that modified Orphaned Drug legislation might have to stimulate R&D investments for these neglected diseases.

Yemen

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper of the Yemen. [87548]

Clare Short: The Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper was submitted by the Government of Yemen to the Boards of the World bank and the IMF at the end of July, and subsequently approved by both.

The World bank hosted a Consultative Group meeting in Paris during October, which was attended by representatives from the Government and from donor agencies operating in Yemen. At this meeting, both the Government and the donor community affirmed their commitment to work together in implementing the Poverty Reduction Strategy over the course of the next three years.

Detailed discussions are now under way in Sana'a about how to implement that commitment and monitor progress.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her Department is doing to work with the Government of Yemen (a) on their basic education programme and (b) reproductive health. [87549]

Clare Short: My Department does not currently have a programme of work with the Government of Yemen in either the basic education or reproductive ealth sectors. Through the Small Grants Scheme

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administered by the British Embassy, we are supporting some small-scale activities which are being implemented by non-governmental organisations at a local level.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money her Department will give to the Yemen in 2002–03 and if this will increase within the Framework of the Resource Allocation Round. [87550]

Clare Short: My Department expects to provide funding worth around #2.28 million to Yemen in 2002–03. The outcome of the Resource Allocation Round for future years will be known early in 2003.

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