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Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the delivery of aid to (a) Falluja and (b) Najaf in Iraq in April. [167373]

Hilary Benn: Iraqi Ministries, United Nations agencies, the Red Cross and Red Crescent, NGOs and Iraqi citizens have been working together to assist people affected by conflict in Falluja. For example: the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have provided blankets, mattresses, food, water, stoves, plastic sheets and emergency health kits for Fallujans outside the city; the Iraqi Ministry of Health, together with the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Red Cross and Red Crescent and NGOs, have been working to ensure that sufficient medical supplies and assistance reach hospitals and clinics inside Falluja; and NGOs
 
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and local groups have distributed items including cooking gas, sanitation kits and hygiene buckets. The British office in Baghdad is in contact with a local NGO    about providing DFID funding for urgent humanitarian supplies.

Iraqi Ministries, UN agencies, the ICRC and others have made preparations for the provision of emergency humanitarian assistance, if required, in other Iraqi cities including Najaf. For example, 1.5 tonnes of medical and surgical supplies were distributed in early April to the Najaf health directorate.

An emergency coordination group has been established to ensure the effective coordination of emergency assistance in Iraq. Its membership includes UN agencies, the Red Cross and Red Crescent, and NGOs.

Kenya

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the recent flooding in Western Kenya. [167817]

Hilary Benn: Recent heavy rains have led to flooding in Western Kenya as in other parts of the country. It is estimated that approximately 14,000 people are affected in western Kenya. The response is being managed by the Government, with assistance from the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS). The Government are distributing food to seven districts, and KRCS is distributing non-food items. Neither are currently asking for additional assistance from the international community. The Kenya Meteorological Office is predicting that average to above average rains will continue in parts of western Kenya. The Rapid Onset Disaster Committee is planning for a potential figure of 60,000 affected, should the heavy rains continue into May. If this were to happen, then the Government of Kenya may ask the World Food Programme and others for assistance. DFID Kenya will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Millennium Development Goals

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of new jobs that need to be created annually in the developing world if the Millennium Development Goal to eradicate extreme poverty is to be achieved. [167210]

Hilary Benn: The MDG for income poverty targets a reduction by 50 per cent. of the proportion of the population living in extreme poverty (defined as an income of less than US$1 per capita per day in purchasing power parity terms) between 1990 and 2015. The World Bank's ¹ latest estimates indicate that about 1.1 billion people worldwide live in extreme poverty. If projected growth remains on track, global poverty rates will fall to 13 per cent.—less than half the 1990 level.

Reliable estimates of the number of new jobs required to eliminate extreme poverty do not exist. The majority of poor people in developing countries are outside formal employment, and progress towards the MDG can be achieved by improving opportunities in subsistence agriculture and the informal economy as well as by creating more formal sector jobs. Thus
 
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poverty can be reduced without necessarily involving the creation of additional formal sector jobs—for example, India has witnessed a sharp fall in poverty with little expansion of the formal sector job market. While a well-paid job can lift an entire household out of poverty, a poorly paid job may not lift anyone out of poverty. The International Labour Organisation (ILO)'s 'Decent Work' agenda ² emphasises that the quality as well as the quantity of jobs is important. The rate of economic growth is the most critical factor in determining the attainment of this MDG.

¹  World Bank, "Global Economic Prospects 2004", Chapter 1 page 45.

²  ILO, "Working Out Of Poverty", 2003.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of progress towards the Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality by 75 per cent. by 2015. [167212]

Hilary Benn: The Millennium Development Goal of improving maternal health has a target to reduce the maternal mortality ratio (the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births) by three-quarters between 1990 and 2015. This is equivalent to an annual reduction of 5.4 per cent. Approximately 529,000 women die annually from complications of pregnancy and childbirth.

Trends in maternal mortality are difficult to measure, but available data suggest that progress in reducing the maternal mortality ratio has been slow in recent years. With an average annual decline of 3.2 per cent. in the 1990s, the developing world as a whole is off target. While some countries have reduced maternal mortality, data suggest that some parts of Africa have seen an increase. A recent World Bank analysis suggests that only 17 per cent. of developing countries, containing 32 per cent. of the world's population, are on track to achieve the target.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of progress towards the Millennium Development Goal of reducing infant mortality by 66 per cent. by 2015. [167214]

Hilary Benn: The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for child health is to reduce the rate of mortality in children under five by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015. The indicator that measures progress against this target directly is the under-five mortality rate. Infant mortality (deaths of children under one year old) and the proportion of one-year old children immunised against measles are used as intermediate indicators of progress.

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. The infant mortality rate declined from 64 to 57 deaths per 1,000 live births in the same period. There is, however, considerable regional variation in the rates of progress being made. Latin America is expected to meet the MDG target, but there has been much slower progress in South Asia, and slowest progress in sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for over half of all under-five
 
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deaths. Recent World Bank analysis suggests that only 16 per cent. of developing countries are on track to achieve the target.

Rwanda

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance is being given to help women who were raped during the genocide in Rwanda and who now suffer from HIV/AIDS. [167826]

Hilary Benn: HIV/AIDS is a serious problem in Rwanda. Rwanda does not yet have the health infrastructure required to effectively deliver anti-retroviral therapy (ART) countrywide. But the Government have produced a comprehensive "Strategic Framework for HIV/AIDS Control" and all the major donors, including the Clinton Foundation, the Global Fund and the World Bank, have committed to support it. This framework includes the progressive provision of ART to all who need it, through a network of health centres. Through a partnership between UNAIDS and five of the leading multinational pharmaceutical companies (the Accelerating Access to HIV/AIDS Care, Treatment And Support Initiative), Rwanda is one of the countries that have reached agreement with manufacturers on significantly reduced drug prices in the context of its national HIV care and treatment plans.

The UK has committed £25 million through the International Partnership Against AIDS in Africa Programme (IPAA) to increase capacity in certain National HIV/AIDS Commissions, including Rwanda. DFID is currently considering whether we can build on this engagement, to ensure that Rwanda has the capacity to manage and direct the various programmes of support.

DFIF is also providing direct assistance to the survivors of the genocide through the Government's Survivors Fund (FARG). This assistance is currently running at some £200,000 per annum, and planned additional support up to £850,000 will enable FARG to broaden the services it provides to include advice and counselling on issues around HIV/AIDS.

I have a specific concern over the inequity in access to Anti-Retroviral Treatment between the defendants and the witnesses at the International Criminal Tribunal (ICTR) for Rwanda, which is considering crimes committed during the genocide. While defendants have access to health care including ART, witnesses generally do not. I wrote to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, asking how the United Nations and the international community could work to resolve this inequity. The UN Secretary General replied, reporting that UNAIDS/WHO were identifying suitable health care providers, but seeking assistance from the UK to fund ART treatment for witnesses. I have responded positively and offered DFID assistance up to £200,000 for ICTR witnesses and others called by the Tribunal to receive healthcare, including ART, from a centre in Kigali.
 
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