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24 Feb 2003 : Column 276W—continued
Maximising Impact in the Water Sector
Ms Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the National Audit Office's report, "Maximising Impact in the Water Sector"; and if she will make a statement. [98975]
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Clare Short: I welcome this report. It provides a welcome contribution to improving our work in the water sector as well as other areas. I was pleased to see that the National Audit Office concluded that our projects on water and sanitation have been largely successful, and that DFID is highly influential internationally. The National Audit Office's recommendations provide further impetus to strengthen our approach in areas such as evaluation and maximising the take-up of DFID research.
I also refer my hon. Friend to my written ministerial statement to Parliament on water on 28 January 2003, ahead of the forthcoming World Water Forum in Kyoto in March 2003, setting out our view of the key issues in the sector and our approach to addressing them.
Mobile Communications (Third World)
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether development assistance is available to help with the expansion of mobile communications in the third world. [98808]
Clare Short: We are providing assistance in various ways to help bring the benefits of mobile communications to poorer people in developing countries. For example, the Building Digital Opportunities programme is supporting work at the policy level (e.g. by assisting regulators to develop pro-poor policy environments) and with communities (e.g. supporting local approaches to providing valuable information to poorer communities through mobile phones). Strategic interventions such as our new CATIA programme (Catalysing Access to ICTs in Africa) and the Open Knowledge Network, both include support for pro-poor mobile communication channels.
In addition, we are working to attract greater private sector participation in expanding mobile communications in developing countries. In close consultation with key private companies and the DTI, we are jointly exploring how to enable the private sector bring affordable communications services to the great majority of people in developing countries without easy access to a public telephone. Mobile communications will play a critical role in this. In addition, DFID is contributing to broader infrastructure investment funds, such as the EAIF—Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund—which can support, inter alia, investments in mobile communications facilities.
Montserrat
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what subjects she discussed with the Chief Minister of Montserrat during his recent visit to London. [98834]
Clare Short: We discussed Montserrat's progress towards self-sufficiency, including plans for a new airport, and future DFID support.
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial resources her Department (a) allocated and (b) transferred to Montserrat in each year from 1998. [98835]
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| UK Financial Year | Allocated (£000s)(52) | Disbursed (000s)(53) |
|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 33,000 | 31,096 |
| 1999–2000 | 23,934 | 22,640 |
| 2000–01 | 24,100 | 20,811 |
| 2001–02 | 24,400 | 24,412 |
| 2002–03 | (52)20,000 | (53)20,000 |
(52) Revised
(53) Estimated outturn
In addition I recently set aside a total of £45.6 million for Montserrat over the period 2003–04 to 2005–06, which will bring our total assistance by 2005–06 to over £225 million since the onset of the volcanic emergency. This will represent, for the coming three years, an increase of around 50 percent. of the budget that was previously available to Montserrat over that period.
Source:
1. Departmental records.
2. Statistics on International Development, 2002.
Palestinian Food Shortages
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on Palestinian food shortages. [98554]
Clare Short: The economic crisis has seriously compromised household welfare. Many Palestinian families have endured long periods without work or incomes, and are now dependent on food aid for their daily survival. The international community has responded to the growing crisis through a range of interventions, including the provision of food. Donor disbursements have doubled accordingly in the last two years. But unless Palestinians can move around to work and trade, the Palestinian economy will continue to stagnate and the spiral of unemployment, poverty and malnutrition will worsen.
Safe Drinking Water
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the progress towards halving by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water. [98269]
Clare Short: Nearly two thirds of the world's population will be living in countries of significant water stress by the year 2025. 1.2 billion people currently lack access to safe drinking water and 2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation.
The percentage of people served with some form of improved water supply rose from 77 per cent. in 1990 to 82 per cent. in 2000. The greatest gain in improved water coverage was in South-central Asia, from 72 per cent. to 85 per cent. The percentage of people with access to basic sanitation increased from 51 per cent. to 61 per cent. in the same period. Much work, however, has yet to be done. In sub-Saharan Africa, only 58 per cent. of the population has access to improved water sources. The 2002 UN Human Development Report has indicated that nearly 25 countries, the majority in Sub-Sahara Africa, are lagging or are far behind in respect to meeting the MDG for water, with
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another 75 countries lacking data to effectively assess their progress. But all of the goals remain achievable if developing countries and the international community have the determination to ratchet up their efforts.
My Department is providing substantive financial support and technical assistance to initiatives that support the assessment of access to improved water supplies and sanitation, including the United Nation's Joint Monitoring Programme which provides the UN reference at both global, regional and country levels and the World Water Assessment Programme, a collective and consolidated UN system-wide assessment and reporting facility which provides analysis and data on the state of global freshwater and status review of the attainment of the water and sanitation targets.
To promote sustainable access to safe drinking water, my Department's activities at the international and national levels are looking to address the issues of political will, institutional capacity to provide and maintain services, scaling up initiatives to increase coverage, and long term sustainability incorporating cost-recovery and maintenance.
Somalia
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what development aid has been made available in each of the last two years to Somalia. [98807]
Clare Short: We provided over £2.8 million for Somalia in 2001 and over £1.5 million in 2002 This included contributions to the International Committee of the Red Cross' and United Nation's Appeals for Somalia, as well as activities such as primary health care, emergency nutrition, health assistance and water rehabilitation (through non-governmental agencies such as Action Contre la Faim, Medecins sans Frontieres, Norwegian People's Aid and World Vision).
We have also supported Somali women's participation in the peace process and local elections in Somaliland.
In addition, DFID's imputed share of EC expenditure in Somalia for 1999 and 2000 (the latest years for which figures are available) totalled £5 million.
Our engagement with Somalia focuses on three areas: (i) strengthening regions that have achieved sustained stability (e.g. Somaliland) and seeing what lessons we can help transfer to other parts of the country; (ii) supporting the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) led peace process and (iii) the continuation of the current humanitarian programme in war-affected areas, particularly in the south.
UN Humanitarian Assessment Missions
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to her answer of 5 February 2003, Official Report, column 291W, on Central Africa, when she expects United Nations humanitarian assessment missions to enter the zones under rebel control. [98584]
Clare Short: To date, no humanitarian NGO or UN agency has been able to access zones under rebel control to assess the humanitarian and health needs of the population. We understand that a UN humanitarian
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assessment mission that was due to visit rebel zones on 6 February has been postponed; we have no details on when this will be rescheduled.
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