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International Plan of Action on Ageing
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action his Department (a) has taken and (b) intends to take in relation to the findings of the International Plan of Action on Ageing 2002. [170984]
Hilary Benn: DFID was closely involved in the preparations for the Second World Assembly on Ageing, held in Madrid in 2002. For example DFID supported the UN secretariat for the Assembly and also provided funding for the African Union's leadership and for the non-governmental organisation HelpAge International (HAI) to participate in the policy development process. DFID's support helped to ensure that poverty reduction and other development issues were fully reflected in the International Plan of Action, so that it provides a good basis for further action by the international community.
The eradication of poverty is a fundamental aim of the International Plan of Action. DFID's aim is also the elimination of poverty in poorer countries. Older people are often among the poorest. The problems faced by many older people are therefore included in the policy
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analyses currently being carried out by DFID on chronic poverty and on social exclusion. DFID is also funding research at the Centre for Chronic Poverty and Development Policy at Manchester, in partnership with HelpAge International, into elderly people living in poverty. Other recently completed research projects looked at the migration of older people from South Asia and at non-contributory pensions and poverty prevention.
The Action Plan advocates the active participation of older people in society and development. DFID's approach recognises the human rights of poor people, including older people and seeks to ensure that they are consulted on policies and decisions that affect them. DFID encourages their participation in research and in the development of policies that affect them. This increases understanding of how they perceive their rights and of the obstacles they face in obtaining their entitlements.
DFID has had a strategic Programme Partnership Agreement with HelpAge International (HAI) since 2002. The purpose is to influence the development of policies and practices that promote rights and opportunities for older people and to maximise their contribution to society. DFID has provided funding of £2.46 million under this Agreement over the financial years 2002–03 to 2004–05. Funding for future years has still to be negotiated.
HAI's work includes support for setting up effective groups of older citizens in developing countries. This includes strengthening them to monitor how their governments carry out their commitments to reduce the poverty of older people, including the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing. This project also encourages dialogue between governments, civil society and older people to ensure that effective policies and programmes are developed to reduce poverty among older people. A major objective of HAI is to raise awareness of the impact of HIV/AIDS on older people. They also support work to inform older people of their rights—for example a programme in South Africa to train older people to give affordable legal advice at village level on issues such as widowhood and inheritance.
Examples of projects funded by DFID country programmes include support for the development of services for older people in the Kemerovo region of Russia and projects in the Overseas Territories of Montserrat and St. Helena to provide sheltered housing and other support for elderly people to live in the community.
Primary Schools (Developing Countries)
Sir Archy Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the projects being funded by his Department which will lead to more primary school places being made available in developing countries in the current financial year. [169373]
Mr. Gareth Thomas:
The UK Government are working in the poorest countries in the world and with the international community to help governments
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provide education for millions of children who are out-of-school. Total investment in education from 1997–2002 was around £820 million. During the last financial year of 2003–04 DFID has spent over £170 million on education in developing countries, providing books and equipment, building new schools, paying teacher salaries and providing training for teachers. This figure is set to rise to over £250 million per year for the next four years.
Progress has already been made in many countries; global enrolment in primary education increased from £596 million in 1990 to £648 million children in 2000.
There are projects supporting primary education in several countries including Bangladesh, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria (with the World Bank), Pakistan, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Vietnam and Zambia. Projects in Nepal are also under development. In addition, DFID supports education in Mozambique and Uganda through budget support.
In Vietnam, DFID supports the implementation of the Governments recently approved National Education for All action plan. This includes support for a range of actions to ensure sufficient primary school places of reasonable quality for all children in educationally disadvantaged districts.
In India for example, the UK Government are providing funds to the Indian Government to help children from four of the poorest states attend and complete a full cycle of basic schooling. In Kenya, the Government recently stopped school fees at primary school. Making education free has brought a dramatic rise in the number of children going to school—over one million extra children. DFID is supporting the Kenyan Government to provide enough school places to keep up with demand and to ensure that quality is sustained. Finally, in Ethiopia the Government has prioritized primary education. Although enrolment is among the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, progress is on track and the Gross Enrolment Rate has doubled over the last 10 years to 65 per cent.
Uganda
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which consultants are retained by his Department to provide the Government of Uganda with advice on delivery of public services; what the value of the contracts with the consultants is; and what the nature of the consultants' brief is. [171207]
Hilary Benn: The requested information is shown as follows.
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Water Supplies
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance he is giving to projects which improve access to clean water in the developing world. [171017]
Hilary Benn: DFID is committed to supporting implementation of the Millennium Development Goals on access to safe water and provision of basic sanitation, and to the commitments made at the World Summit on Sustainable Development for better management of water resources. DFID's goal in the water sector is to enable poor people to lead healthier and more productive lives by helping to increase and sustain their access to safe drinking water supply and appropriate sanitation. DFID supports an integrated approach to sustainable water resource management, water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion.
DFID currently has bilateral programmes in many countries and supports several major multilateral initiatives to improve access to clean water and sanitation. DFID is also working with other bilateral and multilateral agencies to develop more effective ways of attracting financing at a global level that are linked to the development of effective national water sector strategies and policies.
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DFID's recent Water Action Plan sets out how DFID will contribute to meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), through ongoing commitments to water supply, sanitation and water resource management.
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