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Ethiopia

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on progress on human rights in Ethiopia; what indicators he is using to monitor human rights in Ethiopia; and when he expects the Ethiopian Government to set up the Human Rights Commission promised in 2000. [156828]

Hilary Benn: When I visited Ethiopia in February I spoke to Prime Minister Meles and members of his Government about how respect for human rights can be improved. The Prime Minister accepted there are problems, but told me of his commitment to improving this situation. He gave an undertaking to build the capacity of the judiciary and security sectors to help protect constitutional rights for all.

The Government of Ethiopia have agreed to link progress with human rights to our UK budget support agreement. The 'Establishment of a Human Rights Commission and Ombudsman' will be one indicator of progress. The target for June 2004 is for the commissioners of both bodies to be appointed. By June 2005, both bodies will be expected to produce a report outlining cases and complaints handled.

We will be monitoring progress carefully.

Famine

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the amount of grain required to provide an adequate level of sustenance for those people living in famine. [156965]

Hilary Benn: DFID follows the international guidelines as set by the World Food Programme and the World Health Organisation for the provision of food in emergency situations.

The guidelines recommend a minimum of 2,100 Kcals per person per day. This is equivalent to approximately 600 g of grain. However, wherever possible, we seek to ensure a diet with an appropriate balance of nutrients. Rations are therefore not usually provided as grain

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alone, but typically consist of 400 g of grain, 50 g of corn soy blend, 25 g of oil, 60 g of pulses and 15 g of sugar per person per day.

Different degrees of under-nourishment require different feeding regimes. For example, severely malnourished children are usually taken into a therapeutic feeding regime that will provide 200 Kcal per kilogramme of body weight per day. The rations are usually made up of a mixture of fortified flour, oil, sugar, vitamins and mineral complex and other local foods as appropriate.

HIV/AIDS

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in HIV/AIDS rates in countries identified by UNAIDS as the worst affected countries. [156398]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID provides support to UNAIDS, and looks to them to provide information on the global status of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Last December, UNAIDS launched the Global Epidemic Update (available at www.unaids.org) which provided a synthesis of trends in the epidemic in all regions. They will be producing detailed country information to launch at the World AIDS Conference in July 2004 in Bangkok.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what representations his Department has made to UNAIDS about changes to future exercises estimating HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in sub-Saharan Africa, to include population-based surveys as opposed to surveys which indicate trends in HIV prevalence; [156438]

(2) what representations his Department has (a) received from non-governmental organisations and (b) made to UNAIDS on over-estimates of HIV/AIDS rates in sub-Saharan Africa by UNAIDS; [156784]

(3) what research his Department (a) has commissioned and (b) plans to commission into differences between data based on population-based surveys and on ante-natal clinic-based surveys in giving reliable estimates of the level of HIV/AIDS infection in sub-Saharan Africa; [156397]

(4) what representations his Department (a) has made and (b) plans to make to UNAIDS to include population-based HIV survey data in UNAIDS' next report on the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. [156400]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: We have not received any representations from non-governmental organisations on over-estimates of HIV/AIDS rates in sub-Saharan Africa. This Department does not plan to commission research into the differences between data based on population-based surveys and on ante-natal clinic-based surveys in giving reliable estimates of the level of HIV/AIDS infection in sub-Saharan Africa. UNAIDS has the mandate to provide information on the status of the epidemic.

UNAIDS included information about methodological issues relating to differences between data taken from these two different sources in the Global Epidemic update, which was released last World AIDS day. They concluded

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that population based surveys are likely to underestimate true HIV prevalence in most cases, because some respondents are absent from the household at the time of a survey and some refuse to participate. UNAIDS also recognise that most antenatal clinic-based surveillance systems have limited geographical coverage, which can lead to wide variations in the quality of the national estimate of HIV prevalence.

UNAIDS is now doing some analysis linking behavioural data to the surveys, to see whether and how that has affected the result of the population-based surveys. They will convene a meeting in May to analyse different results across a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa from the two sources of data. They aim to report findings at the World AIDS Conference in Bangkok in 2004.

We have not made any specific representations to UNAIDS about changes to future exercises estimating HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in SA, to include population based surveys as opposed to surveys which indicate trends in HIV prevalence. DFID is in dialogue with them on issues around data sources for HIV estimates. UNAIDS contend that conducting ante-natal clinic-based surveys and population surveys at three to five year intervals can serve as valuable components of surveillance systems and can help improve estimates of the levels and trends in HIV prevalence. This Department supports UNAIDS in their efforts to analyse the different results from different sources, rather than relying on one source alone. All HIV estimates need to be assessed critically. Using different sources for data and interrogating the results will always provide more robust analysis than relying on one source.

Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support the Department is providing for research into developing vaccines to prevent HIV/AIDS. [157486]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID have agreed to provide a contribution of £14 million over the period January 2000 to December 2004 in support of the work of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI).

IAVI is a global non-profit making organisation that is working to speed the development and distribution of preventive AIDS vaccines through: mobilising support through advocacy and education; accelerating scientific progress; encouraging industrial participation in AIDS vaccine development; and assuring global access.IAVI's stated mission is to ensure the development of safe, effective, accessible, preventive AIDS vaccines for use throughout the world.

Kuwait

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the UK's contribution to the Humanitarian Operations Centre in Kuwait is; and if he will make a statement. [156358]

Hilary Benn: The Humanitarian Operations Centre in Kuwait was established prior to the conflict by the Coalition military and the Kuwaiti Government to support the coordination and facilitation of humanitarian operations from Kuwait into southern Iraq. The UK military contributed human resources. DFID has not contributed financially to the centre but

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is involved closely with it, including through the sharing of information. We have benefited from its information and co-ordination functions.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many Parliamentary Questions have been tabled to his Department since 1 January 2003, broken down by (a) Ordinary Written and (b) Named Day; what percentage in respect of (a) were answered within 10 working days; and what percentage in respect of (b) were answered by the specified date. [157749]

Hilary Benn: Since 1 January 2003, DFID has been asked 2,358 Written Parliamentary Questions. We are unable to break this down into Ordinary Written and Named Day Questions without incurring disproportionate cost.

DFID try to respond to Parliamentary Questions within the Parliamentary deadlines whenever possible.

Swaziland

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid his Department intends to offer Swaziland in respect of the recent declaration of a state of national emergency. [156782]

Hilary Benn: DFID is supporting the work of the Vulnerability Assessment Committee in Swaziland, and has provided funding to the Food and Agriculture Organisation to run a series of "seed fairs" providing tools and seeds to families to enable them to grow food. We have also provided emergency funding to UNICEF to improve water and sanitation in schools. We have no immediate plans to provide further assistance following the emergency declaration.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid his Department will offer to Swaziland in relation to its HIV/AIDS policy. [156783]

Hilary Benn: DFID supports Swaziland's efforts to combat HIV/AIDS through two regional programmes—the International Partnership against AIDS in Africa (implemented by UNAIDS and ActionAid), and a programme implemented by the Southern African Development Community.

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