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19 Nov 2003 : Column 942W—continued
Ethiopia
Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on his plans to provide aid to Ethiopia in response to predicted food shortages next year. [139346]
Hilary Benn: Since the beginning of 2002 we have provided over £50 million in humanitarian support to Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian Government's Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Commission (DPPC) and UN agencies are currently undertaking crop assessments. Official estimates of food shortages for 2004 will therefore not be available until the DPPC/UN appeal, which should be issued on 10 December.
We will then take these estimates into account, along with nutritional information and other indicators of the humanitarian crisis, when making our decisions about the provision of humanitarian assistance during 2004.
Infant Mortality
Ms Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made against the target of reducing the number of child deaths under the fourth millennium development goal; and what assessment his Department has made of whether the target will be met. [138904]
Hilary Benn: Globally child mortality is declining, and between 1990 and 2000 the under-five mortality rate was reduced from 92 to 82 deaths per 1,000 live births. On
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current trends, however, the Millennium Development Goal target of reducing under-five mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015 will not be met.
DFID works with international partners to monitor global trends in progress towards the Millennium Development Goals and their associated targets. Latest United Nations reports suggest considerable regional variation in the rates of progress being made towards the under-five mortality target. Latin America is expected to meet the target, but there has been much slower progress in South Asia, and virtually no progress in sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for over half of all under-five deaths.
DFID has put the achievement of the MDGs at the heart of its work, and is working with its partners to accelerate progress towards the MDG targets. The targets for both child and maternal mortality in Africa and Asia form part of DFID's Public Service Agreement. Supporting progress in sub- Saharan Africa is a particular priority for DFID.
An assessment of progress towards all of the MDGs is provided in the UN Secretary General's 2003 report on the implementation of the Millennium Declaration: http://ods-dds- nv.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N03/481/57/PDF/N0348157. pdf?OpenElement.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) if he will list the mortality rates of children under five for (a) girls and (b) boys in Asia in each of the last 10 years; [139540]
- (2) what the mortality rates of children under five for (a) girls and (b) boys were in sub-Saharan Africa in each of the last 10 years. [139542]
Hilary Benn: Estimates for under-five mortality by region are published by the UN Statistics Division on the Millennium Development Goals database. This provides information for 1990 and 2000 but not for intervening years. A gender disaggregation is not available. Details are as follows:
| 1990 | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 176 | 172 |
| Eastern Asia | 44 | 36 |
| South-central Asia | 125 | 95 |
| South-eastern Asia | 77 | 51 |
| Western Asia | 70 | 62 |
These figures were published in the report of the Secretary-General on the MDGs to the UN General Assembly in September 2003 and can be accessed via: http://millenniumindicators.un.org/unsd/mi/pdf/a 58 323e.pdf .
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on child mortality in developing countries in (a) 1980, (b) 1990 and (c) 2000. [139622]
Hilary Benn: Globally, child mortality was significantly reduced in the late twentieth century. The number of child deaths fell from over 13 million in 1980 to an estimated 10.8million in 2000. The following table gives the United Nations estimates of under-five
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mortality rates (the probability of a child dying before his or her fifth birthday expressed per 1,000 live births) over this period globally and in developing countries:
| Under-five mortality: the world | Under-five mortality: developing regions | |
|---|---|---|
| (a) 1980 | 117 | 132 |
| (b) 1990 | 92 | 102 |
| (c) 2000 | 82 | 90 |
While this decline in child deaths is encouraging, current progress towards the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of reducing under-five mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015 is too slow and uneven across regions. A significant challenge remains, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
DFID has put the achievement of the MDGs at the heart of its work, and is working with its partners to accelerate progress towards the MDG targets. The targets for both child and maternal mortality in Africa and Asia form part of DFID's Public Service Agreement.
Iraq
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps coalition forces in Iraq are taking to set up a humanitarian traffic lane on the Iraqi side of the Iraqi-Jordanian border. [138619]
Hilary Benn: We are not aware that coalition forces are planning the setting up of a humanitarian traffic lane on the Iraq side of the border with Jordan.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of Iraq's demand for domestically consumed fuels was met through imports in the last month. [138877]
Hilary Benn: It is estimated that, in October 2003, between one-quarter and one-third of the national supply of gasoline, diesel and kerosene was met by imports. Imports also provided almost two-thirds of the demand for LPG. Iraq is likely to depend on imports of these fuels until the early spring.
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will identify the roles and responsibilities of (a) the 18 members of staff in his Department and (b) the seconded consultants working in Iraq. [138890]
Hilary Benn: The information is as follows:
- (a) The Iraq Directorate within DFID consists of a range of programme management and professional advisory staff who cover development subjects relevant to the needs of the reconstruction effort, e.g. social development, health, economics and infrastructure.
(b) Most of the seconded consultants are working for the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Baghdad and Basrah in an advisory capacity in various sectors, including economics, education, refugees/returns and infrastructure and urban development. There are eight DFID-funded contractors working as project officers and facilities managers in various Governorate Team Offices throughout Iraq. There are also three DFID members of staff seconded to CPA whose job titles are Assistant to Chief of Operations, Press Officer and Senior Engineering Adviser.
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- (2) what support his Department is giving to the Minister for the Environment in Iraq. [139007]
Hilary Benn: DFID is exploring options for support to the environment, including work with the Minister for the Environment, in the context of other priorities for our future assistance to Iraq. DFID and Defra officials are planning to undertake an assessment visit to Iraq shortly. DFID has meanwhile agreed to part-finance a survey to be carried out in Iraq by the Post-Conflict Assessment Unit of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Mr. Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what advisers have been appointed by Coalition members to support the work of the Minister for the Environment in Iraq. [139009]
Hilary Benn: Coalition members have provided a number of staff for the Coalition Provisional Authority with environmental expertise who work alongside the Iraqi Environment Ministry. These include the Senior Adviser to the Ministry of Health, which previously contained Iraq's Environmental Protection and Improvement Directorate, and the Senior Adviser to the Ministry of Water Resources. As part of the UK contribution to the reconstruction effort, we have agreed to fund half of UNEP's environmental field assessment, which is likely to commence in spring 2004, and will include work on institutional and capacity building focusing particularly on the Environment Ministry.
Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what resources provided by (a) Her Majesty's Government and (b) NGOs are available in Iraq for mine clearance. [125702]
Hilary Benn: The UK has made the following resources available for mine/UXO clearance in Iraq in the current financial year.
| Organisation | Purpose | Amount (£) |
|---|---|---|
| UNMAS | Mine/UXO clearance | 4,000,000 |
| UNMAS | Plastic explosive for disposal of mines/UXO | 357,378 |
| Mines Advisory Group (MAG) | Preparedness | 80,883 |
| Mines Advisory Group (MAG) | Integrated mine action | 781,639 |
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