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12 Nov 2003 : Column 312W—continued
Debt Management
Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the UK is supporting debt management capacity-building programmes; and whether this support is available to all heavily indebted poor countries. [137637]
Hilary Benn: Since 1998, the UK has been co-financing the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Capacity Building Programme (CBP) with four other donors; two further donors have since joined the consortium. The Programme aims to build the capacity of HIPC countries to analyse and manage their debt position, and to negotiate debt relief with creditors and the International Financial Institutions. The CBP works with four regional organisations—three based in Africa and one in Latin America. The Programme is now in its third phase. One of the main objectives of this phase is to turn these organisations into centres of excellence, so that they are able to provide lasting high quality training, advisory and advocacy support to their HIPC member states in key issues of debt management. DFID
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has committed over £4 million to the Project and, through its bilateral programmes, has also funded individual activities under the CBP, such as Debt Advisers for Guyana and Rwanda and strategy workshops in Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda. To date, 36 out of a total of 42 HIPC countries have benefited from the Programme.
Ghana
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he expects Ghana to receive benefit from being a qualifier for highly indebted poor country debt relief; and if he will make a statement. [137688]
Hilary Benn: Ghana qualified for relief under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative in February 2002, when it started to receive debt relief. Under the Initiative, countries qualify for relief in two stages. The first stage is Decision Point, when they start to receive interim relief on their "flow" of payments. During this interim period, countries such as Ghana are not required to service their debt and cease to make debt service payments. The second stage, Completion Point, is reached when HIPC governments have demonstrated progress in tackling poverty. At this final stage they receive an irrevocable reduction in their stock of debt. HIPC countries spend the savings from debt relief on their poverty reduction programmes, thereby increasing resources for social expenditure. Ghana is expected to reach its Completion Point in mid 2004, provided its poverty reduction strategy is implemented satisfactorily.
Global Fund
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total funding contributed in 2003 by the United Kingdom to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria was; and what plans there are to increase the contribution for 2004. [137658]
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Mr. Gareth Thomas: Since 1997, the Department for International Development has stepped up its spending on HIV/AIDS from £38 million in 1997–98 to more than £270 million in 2002–03. According to UNAIDS, UK is currently the second largest bilateral donor active in the field of HIV/AIDS.
Since May 1997 DFID has committed over £1.5 billion to support the development of health systems in partner countries. This will help to build capacity to deliver medicines to the poor and assist them in making effective choices about the selection of drugs.
The UK has a long-term commitment to the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria and recognises that in order to be effective it needs predictable and sustainable financing. The UK recently extended its pledge by a further two years to 2008 bringing our total contribution to US$280 million.
The pattern of our disbursements has been agreed with the Global Fund Secretariat—for the financial year 2003–04 the UK has provided £25 million, and for the financial year 2004–05 we will provide £30 million.
UK funding will be subject to the GFATM reflecting a clear poverty focus, achieving a better financing system, integrating the Fund's activities more effectively with national programmes and meeting agreed benchmarks to monitor its effectiveness. I am pleased to report that good progress was made at the recent sixth board meeting in Thailand on many of these issues.
Land Mines
Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on aid to fund land mine clearance. [137116]
Hilary Benn: DFID is a strong supporter of global humanitarian demining. Since 1997 the Department has provided in excess of £70 million for Global Demining. The following table provides a breakdown.
| 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03(7) | 2003–04(8) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNICEF | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | 0.15 | 0.65 |
| United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) | — | — | — | 1 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 1 |
| Bilateral Programmes | 4.3 | 3.5 | 16 | 14.4 | 6 | 8.2 | 7.5 |
| Research and Knowledge (including the Geneva Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)) | 0.38 | 0.43 | 0.7 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Total | 4.68 | 3.93 | 17.7 | 19.4 | 10.6 | 13.45 | 11.65 |
(7) Includes Afghanistan
(8) Includes Afghanistan and Iraq
HIV/AIDS Drug Programme
Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much the Department is contributing to the World Health Organisation's AIDS/HIV drug procurement programme; and if he will make a statement. [135992]
Mr. Gareth Thomas: The WHO's HIV/AIDS drug procurement programme is an initiative that we welcome and look forward to its launch on 1 December. I will write to my hon. Friend for Leeds, West with more details once the programme has been launched.
Democratic Republic of Congo
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many (a) UN Force and (b) UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo representatives there are in the Democratic Republic of Congo; what plans there are to increase this
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number; what plans there are to send British troops; and if he will make a statement. [136859]
Mr. Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
Currently there are 8,045 military personnel and 61 civilian police personnel in the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC). There are also 606 international civilian staff and 704 local civilian personnel. UN Security Council Resolution 1493 of 28 July 2003 increased the authorised maximum troop level to 10,800 and there are plans to increase the actual number of military personnel to 10,300 by mid-November 2003. At present, there are six UK personnel in MONUC in key HQ positions.
Market Research
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list each item of market and opinion research commissioned since May 1997 by (a) his Department and (b) agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible; what the purpose of each item was; and whether the results were published. [137017]
Mr. Gareth Thomas: In 1998, the Department for International Development (DFID) undertook baseline qualitative and quantitative research among the UK public and opinion leaders. The purpose was (1) to explore existing attitudes to and perceptions of Britain's overseas development programme; (2) to understand how language and communications relating to international development work might be improved; (3) to pre-test new concepts and identify approaches that achieve real domestic resonance. The results of the research are published on the Department's website.
DFID commissions two annual public opinion polls. Both polls monitor public attitudes to and support for international development. One (undertaken annually since 1999) monitors the opinion of the UK adult population and the results are used to inform, and monitor the impact of, the development awareness work of the Department. The second (undertaken annually since 2000) monitors the opinion of schoolchildren and the results are used to inform, and monitor the impact of, the development education work of the Department. The results of both polls are published on the Department's website.
This year, DFID commissioned focus group research. The purpose is to research how we can increase levels of understanding of, and support for, international development within the UK. When the results are available, they will be published on the Department's website.
Since May 1997, no DFID agencies or non-departmental public bodies have commissioned market or opinion research.
Meteoric Tactical Solutions
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the purpose was of the contract awarded to Meteoric Tactical Solutions (PTY) Ltd. for close protection. [137742]
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Hilary Benn: The contract awarded to Meteoric Tactical Solutions (PTY) Ltd. is to provide security support services for DFID staff working in Iraq.
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