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21 Jul 2004 : Column 276W—continued
Haiti
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Haiti. [184330]
Mr. Gareth Thomas [holding answer 20 July 2004]: DFID is addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Haiti primarily through its contribution to the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and through its shareholding in the World Bank. Both organisations provide grants to Haiti's National Programme for HIV/AIDS.
The Global Fund approved two grants to Haiti amounting to US $25 million in late 2002. As a result, the National Programme accelerated its delivery of treatment and care to a target group of 500,000 poor people. So far, US $17 million has been disbursed.
The World Bank agreed a US$ 2.9 million grant to Haiti in early 2003 for the prevention and control of infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS. The grant is being implemented with the support of the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO). In addition, DFID has provided support to WHO/PAHO to help kick-start the provision of affordable Anti-Retro-Viral medicines globally, from which Haiti will benefit.
HIV/AIDS
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures he proposes to cater for women affected by AIDS and their children. [185547]
Mr. Gareth Thomas: The UK Government's new strategy, 'Taking Action: The UK's Strategy for Tackling HIV and AIDS in the Developing World', launched by the Prime Minister on 20 July 2004, prioritises women and young people. Chiefly, the UK Government will:
Support comprehensive programmes for women that address not only their access to sexual and reproductive health and rights but also access to education, employment and social protection.
Support efforts to promote girls' education and work to support programmes tackling gender violence and stigma and discrimination.
Strengthen the links between AIDS and Sexual and Reproductive Health programmes.
Make support for orphans and vulnerable children a cornerstone of our response, by dedicating at least £150 million over the next three years to address their needs, including through:
securing international commitment to UNICEF's Strategic Framework;
reflecting our commitment in the Country Assistance Plans in all affected countries; and
working on a range of interventions to assist keeping children productively in school, secure access to health care and social protection.
Support prevention and treatment programmes that meet the needs of marginalised groups.
Promote the greater involvement of people with HIV and AIDS—including women, young people and marginalized groups—in planning and delivering programmes.
Ensure the human rights of marginalised and vulnerable groups, including women and children, are given proper attention, including:
supporting legislative reform to improve the human rights environment—including anti discrimination legislation, legislation to regulate the conduct of public institutions like the police, and to guarantee individuals access to services.
Working with the formal justice sector to make justice systems more responsive to human rights concerns and more accessible to vulnerable groups.
The UK Government will also support research to build the evidence base and contribute to effective AIDS programmes worldwide. DFID will work to help co-ordination and information sharing between the various research initiatives concerned with the delivery and the impacts of HIV treatment. In particular DFID will support research efforts, which address access to treatment by the poorest and most vulnerable, including women and children.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures he proposes to take to tackle AIDS in Asia. [185581]
Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID currently funds major HIV and AIDS programmes in eight countries in Asia 1 , and supports regional initiatives to reduce the spread of infection and provide services for vulnerable groups. Fuller details are set out in the table on page 20 of the recently launched "Taking Action, the UK's Strategy for Tackling HIV/AIDS in Developing Countries".
DFID will continue to strengthen political leadership and public support for action in all the Public Service Agreement countries in Asia. DFID will intensify its support to national programmes including through non-Government organisations, for example, by supporting India's National AIDS Control Organisation and targeting vulnerable groups in Vietnam and Bangladesh.
DFID will assist the Chinese Government to expand the delivery of services for high risk populations in the poorest provinces of China, and to replicate the approach on a national basis.
1 Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Vietnam.
International Aid (Water and Sanitation)
Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development by how much and by what proportion UK international aid spending on water and sanitation will change in the next three years. [185473]
Mr. Gareth Thomas:
Total bilateral expenditure on water and sanitation represents approximately 6 per cent. of the Department for International Development's (DFID's) total bilateral aid budget—about £85 million per year over the last three years. DFID channels a significant proportion of its assistance
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through multilateral channels such as the European Union, the World Bank and UN organisations (£1.3 billion in 2001–02): of this DFID's contribution to water and sanitation is estimated at around £40 million per annum. DFID supports international initiatives aimed at raising the profile of water and sanitation and achieving better coordination. These include the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council; the Water and Sanitation Programme (attached to the World Bank); and the Global Water Partnership.
DFID does not budget on a sectoral basis. DFID's work and resource allocation is shaped by developing country priorities, notably through support to their poverty reduction strategies; by what other donors are doing; and by our comparative advantage. It is therefore not possible to predict with accuracy water and sanitation sector expenditures for future years. DFID recently published a Water Action Plan that outlines our commitment to ensuring that the water and sanitation targets are given the same international priority as the other MDGs.
Kenya
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial assistance, health and medical advice is being given to Kenya to combat HIV/AIDS; and if he will make a statement. [185018]
Hilary Benn: DFID is planning to spend £7.1 million during the next financial year to tackle HIV/AIDS. Most of this is to support the Government of Kenya's National Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS. This strategy will work alongside non-governmental agencies to ensure that HIV/AIDS concerns are considered in all relevant Government activity. Among other initiatives, DFID is supporting the equitable delivery of Anti Retroviral Treatment (ART), including a communication strategy to reduce misuse, and Home Based Care especially for orphans. Alongside the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), DFID is also funding the social marketing of condoms, especially in rural areas.
In education, DFID has been training teachers to teach children about HIV/AIDS. This programme was found to delay the age at which both girls and boys have sex and increased the use of condoms by girls. DFID is therefore increasing this activity and expects to cover 5,000 schools over the next year.
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial assistance is being given to Kenya; and for which projects. [185019]
Hilary Benn: Last year, DFID's development assistance to Kenya was £29 million. This year our allocation has increased to £37 million. DFID's Country Assistance Plan makes provision to increase our development assistance to £50 million by 2005–06, but final decisions will depend on progress on the Kenyan Government's Economic Recovery Strategy, including its efforts to tackling corruption.
The following is a list of projects in Kenya that have approved funding for this year through bilateral assistance. There are a number of additional programmes that are being developed.
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| Project description | Allocation | Forecast spend 2004–05 |
|---|---|---|
| ABLH Smallholder Marketing | 2,819,000 | 406,423 |
| Smallholder Dairy Project | 2,007,000 | 322,968 |
| Farm Africa—Goat Project II | 1,453,000 | 355,892 |
| Farming Systems Kenya | 433,000 | 86,008 |
| Sustainable Rural Livelihoods | 120,000 | 34,385 |
| Support to Kenya Land Reform | 472,000 | 114,150 |
| Sabatia Food Security Project | 462,289 | 33,801 |
| Kwale Rural Support | 2,100,000 | 300,000 |
| Assistance Road Sector Reform | 400,000 | 54,439 |
| Financial Sector deepening | 11,370,000 | 2,035,914 |
| Approtech Micro-Irrigation | 1,700,000 | 192,796 |
| Business Partnerships Programme | 2,000,000 | 146,889 |
| Enabling Environment | 2,900,000 | 620,000 |
| Business Services Market Dev | 2,700,000 | 600,000 |
| Support for Private Sector Dev | 400,000 | 150,000 |
| Strengthening Govt Finance | 1,030,000 | 110,935 |
| Assist, to Population Census | 2,140,050 | 624,537 |
| Political Empowerment Project | 7,340,000 | 825,000 |
| Legal Sector Reform | 3,000,000 | 1,712,591 |
| Monitoring and Evaluation | 150,000 | 75,091 |
| Environmental Governance Prog. | 2,200,000 | 816,868 |
| Poverty Reduction (PROLOGS) | 6,600,000 | 1,271,945 |
| Public Expenditure Mgmt | 950,000 | 350,000 |
| CBS Statistical Data | 250,000 | 450,000 |
| Ndhiwa Health Education | 908,785 | 44,582 |
| WaterAid Dev | 725,971 | 66,551 |
| ASAL Water | 1 ,000,000 | 113,189 |
| CARE Garissa Water | 405,693 | 127,253 |
| Kitui Sand Dams | 353,059 | 50,739 |
| Education for Employment | 450,000 | 44,090 |
| SPReD III Prim. Education | 4,390,000 | 690,902 |
| HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care Ph 3 | 34,895,419 | 6,000,000 |
| Safe Motherhood | 2,054,000 | 197,376 |
| Anti-Malarial Treatment | 573,081 | 100,000 |
| Malaria Control in Kenya | 6,163,820 | 2,502,773 |
| Decentralisation of Health Serv | 3,500,000 | 1,011,260 |
| Social Marketing of Bednets | 27,800,000 | 5,800,000 |
| Social Marketing of Condoms | 8,636,000 | 1,100,000 |
| Oxfam Programme Partnership Agreement | 425,000 | 425,000 |
| ActionAid Programme Partnership Agreement | 3,000,000 | 1,100,000 |
| Reduction of Conflict | 250,000 | 250,000 |
| Turkana Emergency Relief Programme | 653,000 | 653,000 |
| Total | 31,957,347 |
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the progress being made to assist Kenya in the provision of (a) the roads network and (b) water distribution in the North West of the country. [185122]
Hilary Benn: DFID supports development work in North West Kenya through partners such as Oxfam and Water Aid Kenya (locally known as Maji na Ufanisi). This work includes long-term development and short-term humanitarian assistance carried out in close collaboration with the Kenya authorities and with local communities. The long-term development approach involves strengthening local organisations to press the Government to provide basic services, including roads and water, and at the same time building community capacity to provide services such as bore hole maintenance at local level.
Part of Oxfam's current work in response to the famine in the North West (which is supported by DFID) is the provision of water for domestic use (construction and rehabilitation of bore holes and pan/dams, well protection and other water points) for both domestic and livestock use. As a result of this, the pressure on water in the North West has been reduced even during this period of drought and famine.
21 Jul 2004 : Column 280W
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement about the accounting, auditing and anti-corruption safeguards in place in respect of schemes run by his Department in Kenya. [185666]
Hilary Benn: DFID's programme in Kenya is subject to the same rigorous safeguards as all our development assistance. These are intended to ensure that funds are spent sensibly, in line with our objectives and with minimal risk of fraud or misappropriation. For this reason, DFID is unable at present to provide poverty reduction budget support to the Kenyan Government, since we are not yet convinced that the Government are seriously committed to fighting corruption and are making good progress on their overall reform programme. However, we can make progress on the Millennium Development Goals by supporting specific sectors and projects.
DFID is also supporting the central Government systems that are intended to ensure that public financial resources are monitored and used more effectively.
DFID, alongside other donors, are also working to strengthen key institutions that are directly involved in fighting corruption. There is to be increased support to the Director of Public Prosecution, Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission and civil society organisations, such as Transparency International, that work to improve the transparency of public resources.
In continued dialogue with the Government, the UK has made clear to the Kenyan Government that allegations about unsatisfactory tendering and contracting procedures are serious and need to be fully investigated. DFID has remained categorical that firm action should be taken against those found to have acted corruptly. DFID has continued to press the Government to pass important legislation including the Public Procurement Bill, the Public Financial Management Bill, and the appointment of a credible Head of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority.
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has to suspend aid to the Kenyan Government. [185852]
Hilary Benn: I am keeping the situation under close review, but have no plans to suspend our assistance to Kenya. Our assistance is designed to support long term change in Kenya that will lead to improved governance, and to help Kenya to make sustainable progress towards the MDGs. The faster the pace of reform, and the more conducive the environment, the faster progress we will make.
DFID's Country Assistance Plan (CAP), launched with the Government of Kenya last month, makes clear that we want to support the implementation of Kenya's Economic Recovery Strategy (ERS). Tackling corruption is a major priority of the ERS. DFID's CAP makes provision to increase our development assistance to £50 million by 2005–06, but final decisions will depend on ERS progress, including tackling corruption.
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