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4 Mar 2003 : Column 942W—continued

HIV/AIDS

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial resources have been allocated to HIV/AIDS projects in each year since 1992. [100003]

Clare Short: DFID bilateral commitments to HIV/AIDS since 1991/92 are as follows:

HIV/AIDS bilateral commitments by year

(£million)
1991/926.9
1992/9310.1
1993/9437.4
1994/9578.2
1995/9657.1
1996/9753.6
1997/98106.4
1998/99154.8
1999/00231.1
2000/01362.6
2001/02436.4

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment her Department has made of the impact of HIV/AIDS on the economic development of (a) Swaziland, (b) Malawi, (c) South Africa, (d) Tanzania, (e) Ethiopia, (f) Kenya and (g) Botswana. [99994]

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Clare Short: HIV/AIDS is having a catastrophic impact on sub-Saharan Africa undermining and even reversing gains made in economic and social development over the last two decades. Current estimates suggest that HIV/AIDS has reduced the growth of Africa's per capita income by 0.7 percentage points a year.

In South Africa, DFID is co-funding research into the economic impact of HIV/AIDS (with USAID and AUSAID), looking at the effects on labour supply, agriculture, on the education and health sectors, and at the household level. Research is also being done on developing methodologies for the analysis of the impact of HIV/AIDS on economic sectors, which will have broader application across Africa. In Kenya and Malawi, DFID are shortly about to undertake similar impact assessments.

Elsewhere in Africa, economic impact assessments are being undertaken by a number of agencies, the findings of which are enabling DFID to develop their cross-sector strategy to combat HIV/AIDS and support country governments in mainstreaming HIV/AIDS responses.

(a) In Swaziland, UNAIDS estimate that maize production has been reduced by 54.2 per cent. as a result of AIDS deaths among households.

(b) In Malawi, HIV/AIDS is estimated to depress economic growth by 1.5 to 2 per cent. annually. Human capital is being continually drained with 8 to 10 per cent. of teachers lost every year to AIDS, faster than can be trained.

(c) HIV/AIDS is impacting negatively on South Africa's international competitiveness, with domestic and foreign investment being deterred because of the high HIV prevalence rates.

(d) The World bank estimated that in Tanzania, GDP will be 15 to 20 per cent. smaller than in a non-AIDS scenario in 2010 because of the impact of disease on physical, human, and social capital accumulation.

(e) Ethiopia is a predominantly agricultural based economy, and HIV/AIDS is impacting heavily on rural populations. Families with an infected family member spend 14 hours a week working their land compared with the average of 34 hours, bringing agricultural productivity down considerably.

(f) In Kenya, GDP is projected to decline by 14.5 per cent. by 2005, while per capita income would decline by 10 per cent. due to AIDS.

(g) In Botswana, the epidemic will be responsible for an 8 to 10 per cent. decrease in per capita income over the next ten years and households in poverty will increase by 6–8 per cent. in the next 10 years.

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which HIV/AIDS education programmes her Department is supporting, broken down by continent. [99996]

Clare Short: My Department is working with development partners to ensure that HIV is mainstreamed throughout education systems, plans and interventions in all African countries and elsewhere where we are providing education support. Support to

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education is critical to ensure that "Education for All" is achieved and that school children in Africa are properly equipped with the skills and knowledge with which to protect themselves from the epidemic. This includes working directly with Ministries of Education to ensure that school curricula address HIV and AIDS in a manner that is gender-sensitive and relevant to students.

We are also making progress by piloting targeted school-based HIV prevention programmes—the Nigeria Extended Life Planning Education Project is one such initiative.

DFID is also supporting innovative "edutainment" programmes in Southern Africa, using multiple media such as radio drama, pamphlets and cartoon books to communicate about HIV prevention. For example, we are supporting a regional initiative to provide materials on HIV/AIDS to all 12 to 16-year-olds in Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland.

Other HIV education programmes supported by my Department include:





Humanitarian Contingency Planning

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what contingency plans have been made to assist the civilians of Iraq in (a) water supplies, (b) food and (c) medical treatment after military conflict. [100082]

Clare Short: Operational humanitarian organisations have made a range of contingency plans to assist civilians with water food and medical treatment in the event of conflict in Iraq. My Department is in close contact with several such organisations, including Un agencies, the Red Cross/Crescent and NGOs. We also discuss regularly with the armed forces the importance of minimising the extent of civilian suffering, and the limited humanitarian assistance the military could provide during any period before UN agencies/NGOs were operational.

Iraq

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures her

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Department will take to support the Iraqi ration distribution system in the event of military intervention in Iraq. [100004]

Clare Short: The continuation of the oil-for-food programme would be a very high priority in the event of any conflict in Iraq. Measures necessary to ensure this are being actively discussed.

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department will take to aid the re-establishment of links between families in the aftermath of possible war in Iraq. [99991]

Clare Short: Following any possible conflict in Iraq, I would expect as elsewhere that the International Committee of the Red Cross, and those UN agencies and NGOs experienced in tracing and family reunification, would take the lead in helping affected families. My Department regularly funds such organisations.

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of the number of people who will be displaced within Iraq in the event of conflict. [99998]

Clare Short: UN agencies and others have made a range of estimates of possible displaced people, which vary widely. The number of people who might leave their houses or try to cross borders would depend on what they are moving from. An essential part of our work has been to try to refine the military options to minimise the humanitarian risk which would lead to large scale movements of people.

Kosovo

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made in Kosovo of (a) health services and indications and (b) education services. [100014]

Clare Short: Kosovo's health indicators are amongst the worst in Europe, following years of neglect to health services, the exclusion of the majority Albanian population from formal healthcare under the Milosevic regime, and serious damage to facilities during the 1999 conflict.

Since 1999, the international community has invested Euro92 million in the reconstruction of Kosovo's health care facilities. The UN administration has established a basic framework for the delivery of health services. This responsibility has now been transferred to Ministry of Health of the elected Provisional Institutions of Self Government.

My department has invested heavily in the improvement of Kosovo's health services, providing extensive emergency assistance during the immediate post-conflict phase, and a subsequent Euro11 million as technical assistance and infrastructure development. We now plan to launch a Euro1.6 million programme to boost the capacity of the Ministry of Health to meet these challenges. In addition, we have contributed approximately Euro7.8 million through the European Commission's health programmes since 1999.

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Education services were similarly disrupted during the Milosevic years and the eventual conflict. There is some evidence that access to education has improved markedly since the conflict ended, with the total number of children attending school rising by 42 per cent. since 1998, and the total number of university students rising by 19 per cent. My department does not provide direct support for education services in Kosovo, as this sector is already well provided for by other donors, including the World Bank and the Canadian and German governments.


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