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African Development Strategies
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Paul Clark.]
3.43 pm
The Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn): I am delighted that the House has the opportunity to discuss Africa and its development, and to seek to answer the question of what progress we are making towards reducing poverty for the people of Africa. This is a critical time for the continent—a time of opportunity as well as challenge. I say that because some of the most intractable conflicts in the region are showing signs of being resolved, and many countries are beginning to show signs of progress towards democracy and good governance, while at the same time, many countries in the north are beginning to recognise that a partnership with the countries of Africa, based on a commitment on both sides to do better, can bring real benefits in the long term.
When we think about Africa, we tend to dwell on famine, war, poverty, disease and civil unrest. Africa has all of those and more, and I shall return to those problems later. Africa is not only about the images we see on the television, however. It is also about real progress, although we need to do much more. The number of major conflicts in Africa fell between 1990 and 2000 from 19 to two. That includes Sudan, where there is an emerging peace process. There is a national transitional Government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where an estimated 3 million people lost their lives during the fighting in what has been described as Africa's hidden first world war. Tanzania, though one of the poorest countries in Africa, has enjoyed a large degree of stability, and despite being geographically part of a volatile region it has remained largely outside the recent conflicts.
Economic growth in Mozambique has been significant in recent years. Malawi has begun to implement an International Monetary Fund programme of sound policies and structural reforms, while Uganda has seen a substantial decline in HIV prevalence, from 20 per cent. in 1991 to 6.5 per cent. in 2001. The House would agree that that is a testament to the power of the political leadership that has been given in that country.
Rwanda and Kenya have made the transition to democracy. The peaceful handover in Kenya following the election last December is a good example of what can be achieved, because the election of President Kibaki and the new National Rainbow Coalition, or NARC, Government were found by all observers to be freer and fairer than what had gone before. The defeated Kenya African National Union Administration, who we should not forget had ruled since Kenya's independence 40 years earlier, handed over power quietly and in accordance with the will of the people.
Rwanda has made extraordinary progress since 1994 and the unimaginable nightmare of the genocide in that country. It is now at peace. The economy is stable and growing—real gross domestic product growth averaged almost 10 per cent. a year from 1995 to 2000—and the Government have made progress towards establishing a democratic and inclusive state in a country with no history of democracy whatever, although we would like to see more.
Those countries and many others in Africa still face considerable challenges. After all, the continent's share of world trade has halved in a generation. For example, 315 million people in the region live on less than $1 a day and 500 million live on less than $2 a day; maternal and child mortality are increasing; a woman has a one in 13 chance of dying in pregnancy or childbirth; HIV/AIDS has contributed to an increase in child mortality—75 per cent. of the world's sufferers live in sub-Saharan Africa; and 23 million girls in the region do not go to school. This is unacceptable in an increasingly interdependent world.
If sub-Saharan Africa's performance does not improve, 23 countries will fail to meet the millennium development goals—the targets that we, together, in the international community have set ourselves to measure the progress we are making, or are not making, in lifting the people of the world, including of Africa, out of poverty.
What are the major challenges that face sub-Saharan Africa? The first thing we have to acknowledge is that Africa's problems are complex and interrelated. The impact of one worsens that of the other; so, for example, civil war exacerbates HIV, which in turn increases poverty, which in turn has a bad effect on infant health and maternal mortality.
In the same way, making progress will involve action on a number of fronts, and there are four main underlying problems that I want to highlight. The first is that nothing can be achieved without growth. Countries such as Mozambique and Rwanda have improved governance and their commitment to reform. They have performed well. Generally, the most dramatic growth rates in Africa have been in those countries that are rich in natural resources, particularly oil and minerals.
Mr. Tom Clarke (Coatbridge and Chryston): On the issue that my right hon. Friend has now raised, has he had the opportunity to consult our colleagues in the Department of Trade and Industry on their excellent energy White Paper? In visiting various African countries, it has struck me that many of them are very rich in energy resources—Nigeria and Angola, for example, in oil—although those have to be developed and there has to be investment. However, that will be helpful to us as, I understand, a net importer of those important products.
Hilary Benn: My right hon. Friend makes a good point about the significance of those natural resources to the countries of Africa that benefit from them—it is important that they be used, although they must also be used effectively.
My right hon. Friend mentioned Nigeria and Angola, which are good examples of countries in which, in the past, wealth has not been used as it might have been to maximise the impact of poverty reduction. That is one of the big issues for the continent.
Mr. Win Griffiths (Bridgend): My right hon. Friend speaks of maximising resources. Might it not be a good idea for many African countries to study what has happened in Botswana, where the Government have
made significant and purposeful efforts to ensure that resources reach the people through, for instance, education and health projects?
Hilary Benn: Botswana is indeed a useful example. I believe that it has experienced some of the highest growth rates in Africa over recent years, although, as my hon. Friend will know, it has also experienced a substantial problem with HIV/AIDS. I shall say more about that shortly.
Another obstacle to growth is conflict. Since 1997, the least developed countries in Africa have achieved half the growth rates of those in Asia. More foreign direct investment is needed. Sub-Saharan Africa still attracts less than 1 per cent. of global foreign direct investment, despite more optimistic forecasts.
As globalisation has affected Africa, its terms of trade have deteriorated and commodity prices have declined. Insufficient jobs and incomes are being created for the poor, and too few resources are being generated for health and education. Progress on trade policy will be essential if Africa is to become competitive, but most countries lack the capacity for trade policy analysis, negotiation and implementation, and the capacity to ensure that trade reform leads to poverty reduction.
As I think the whole House will agree, the current system simply does not work for the least developed countries. Africa's share of world trade halved between 1980 and 1999, and is now less than 1 per cent. That is one reason for our belief that trade rules must be improved to benefit the world's poor, and that is why getting Doha back on track is so important. The challenge for us to meet together is ensuring that the Doha round delivers benefits for African countries and their poorest citizens.
Whatever the reasons for the failure of the talks in Cancun—there was a debate about it not long ago in Westminster Hall—I believe that failure to make progress from now on would be the most damaging development for the world's poorest countries. Africa stands to get a better deal through multilateral negotiations in the World Trade Organisation, where developing countries constitute two thirds of membership. The one good thing that came out of Cancun was the fact that the voice of such countries was heard more loudly and clearly than it had been heard during any of the previous negotiations, and I for one welcome that unreservedly. Multilateral agreement, however, is infinitely preferable to regional and bilateral agreements with bigger economies.
We also need freer and fairer trade rules if developing countries are to benefit. The United Kingdom Government are determined to do all that they can, working with the European Commission and other European Union member states, to make progress on the development round towards fulfilling the commitments that we made at Doha. We are committed to trying to secure progress, because it is critical for African countries. I am thinking in particular of agricultural market access, a reduction in trade-distorting subsidies, and special and differential treatment for poorer countries.
The second fundamental problem faced by Africa is conflict, which kills development as well as people. It has affected 200 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. That
is why supporting African efforts to resolve armed conflicts is so important. The United Kingdom has tried to do that in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Burundi, Angola and west Africa, especially Sierra Leone. Some of those countries are now on the road to peace. In some, better progress is being made; in others, the situation is still fragile. But countries need the assurance of long-term support, and one of the challenges from now on will be to provide assistance so that the countries and regional organisations of Africa can be involved more effectively in trying to prevent or resolve violent conflicts on their continent, and to undertake peace support operations.
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