Previous Section Index Home Page

29 Nov 2006 : Column 699W—continued

Gender Equality

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he expects to publish his Department’s gender equality scheme. [101475]


29 Nov 2006 : Column 700W

Mr. Thomas: The Department for International Development will publish its gender equality scheme by 30 April 2007.

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) his Department and (b) the non-departmental public bodies and executive agencies for which he is responsible are taking steps to meet the requirements of the forthcoming duty on public bodies (i) to end unlawful discrimination and harassment and (ii) to promote equality between women and men. [101550]

Mr. Thomas: Promoting gender equality is at the heart of DFID’s mission to reduce global poverty. DFID is strengthening its work on gender equality globally, through a gender action plan. This fulfils a commitment made in the Government’s recent White Paper.

DFID, in consultation with employees and stakeholders, will also publish a gender equality scheme by 30 April 2007. This will conform to the approach set out in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Public Authorities)(Statutory Duties) Order 2006 (No. 2930) when it comes into force on 6 April 2007.

The scope of this legislation applies to those functions which directly affect the UK public. However, in line with our approach to race and disability legislation, DFID is fully committed to developing good practice on gender across all our overseas functions.

The gender equality scheme will (1) ensure there is no unlawful discrimination or harassment and (2) promote equality between men and women.

The scheme will be reviewed every three years, in consultation with employees and stakeholders. DFID will monitor and report on progress.

DFID is responsible for one active non-departmental public body, the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission. This encourages applications from women, people from minority ethnic backgrounds and disabled people, in line with equality of opportunity.

Global Poverty

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what resources have been allocated to promote awareness and understanding of global poverty under section 4 of the International Development Act 2002 in each of the last three financial years; and if he will make a statement. [106204]

Hilary Benn: The amount spent through DFID’s Building Support for Development budget line, to raise awareness and understanding of global poverty issues is:

£

2004-05

8,840,000

2005-06

9,730,000

2006-07

(1)12 million

(1 )Budget allocation

29 Nov 2006 : Column 701W

HIV/AIDS

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what progress his Department has made in increasing the (a) coverage and (b) uptake of prevention of mother-to-child transmission services in sub-Saharan Africa; and if he will make a statement; [103356]

(2) what steps his Department is taking to reduce the levels of mother-to-child HIV transmissions within developing countries; and if he will make a statement; [103366]

(3) what his assessment is of the provision of and access to (a) Nevirapine and (b) Cotrimoxazole to (i) expectant mothers, (ii) mothers in labour and (iii) their newborn children in developing countries; and if he will make a statement; [103400]

(4) what steps he is taking to promote the prevention of parent-to-child transmission of HIV in developing countries; and if he will make a statement. [105942]

Mr. Thomas: Prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) is now established as an effective, feasible, affordable and achievable intervention to limit the number of babies born with HIV.

There has been some progress with coverage. Globally, over 100 countries are now implementing PMTCT programs, yet only 13 developing countries have achieved national coverage. Coverage of PMTCT programmes is particularly low in sub-Saharan Africa where national rates vary from 1 to 10 per cent. of pregnant women receiving services.

We know that proven interventions, such as HIV testing followed by treatment with Nevirapine can reduce this risk to only 5 per cent. Only 8 per cent. of women with HIV in poor countries have access to such treatment.

DFID is concerned at the low distribution of the life-saving, cheap antibiotic, cotrimoxazole; its efficacy in reducing morbidity and mortality of children with HIV was established during DFID funded research. The need to scale-up access to cotrimoxazole was highlighted at the UK/UNICEF hosted Global Partners Forum on Children and AIDS. UN agencies, notably The World Health Organisation and UNICEF have pledged to step up efforts to support countries to scale up provision of cotrimoxazole as part of efforts to scale up health systems more broadly.

Recent DFID-supported research in the Republic of Congo and Uganda demonstrates that pregnant women with HIV are between four to five times more likely to die as a result of pregnancy and childbirth than non-infected women. When a mother dies in childbirth the baby is up to 10 times more likely to die within the first year of life, whether or not they have HIV themselves.

These are some of the reasons why DFID is increasing its focus on Preventing Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT).

In Zimbabwe, DFID is initiating a £25 million project designed to address maternal and newborn health in a comprehensive way including: diagnosing HIV in pregnant women; improved obstetric care, increasing access to Nevirapine and other pre- and
29 Nov 2006 : Column 702W
postnatal health services, nutritional monitoring of mother and baby with treatment for mother, father and child if they have HIV.

In Malawi, where DFID is the major donor in the health sector, with an investment of £100 million over the period 2004-10, a rapid scale up in PMTCT services is taking place with the aim that every pregnant woman visiting a health facility will have access to HIV prevention and treatment services. As countries scale up the provision and availability of anti-retrovirals, they also have to ensure a corresponding increase in uptake of services. In Zambia, we support UNICEF's expansion of prevention of mother to child transmission.

Stigma and discrimination remain major barriers to uptake of PMTCT and other HIV services in sub-Saharan Africa. DFID is helping to tackle this—for example by funding education and mass-media campaigns in Angola, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe. We have also supported training of journalists across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on sensitive reporting on HIV/AIDS.

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what assessment he has made of progress towards the 2010 targets set out through the United Nations General Assembly Special Session commitment on HIV and AIDS; and if he will make a statement; [103365]

(2) what progress has been made towards the 2010 target of HIV treatment for all; and if he will make a statement. [106048]

Mr. Thomas: The commitment made at the UN General Assembly’s High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS in June 2006, to pursue all necessary efforts to scale up towards the goal of universal access to comprehensive prevention programmes, treatment, care and support by 2010, was a significant step forward. The General Assembly further committed that countries would set, in 2006, ambitious national targets, including interim targets for 2008, in the context of national plans for scaling up towards comprehensive plans for universal access.

I understand through UNAIDS that over 80 countries have provided target data and that over 40 have set outcome targets for all prevention, treatment and care. We look forward to these plans being reviewed, seeing the completion of the process to set targets and for countries to set fully costed, credible plans. In this way the international community, with partner governments, can move ahead with implementation of effective national plans for universal access.

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress his Department has made in making access to, and uptake of, CD4 counts and antiretroviral therapies as wide as possible within rural, developing communities; and if he will make a statement. [103367]

Mr. Thomas: The 2006 World Health Organization guidelines on adult antiretroviral treatment in resource-limited settings recommend that national treatment
29 Nov 2006 : Column 703W
programmes should invest in CD4 cell counting in order to improve the identification of patients in need of treatment.

However, CD4 cell counting requires expensive laboratory equipment and trained staff, and may not be practical at primary care level, since blood samples must be transported to laboratories. Efforts are continuing to reduce the cost of CD4 cell counting. The Department for International Development will continue to monitor the cost of CD4 cell-counting technology and international efforts to reduce costs.

DFID is supporting the scaling up of AIDS treatment services, including CD4 cell-counting and anti-retrovirals in a growing number of countries worldwide. Examples include:

DFID is supporting the Government of Brazil’s STD/AIDS programme to provide technical assistance to 23 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Main elements of this programme include the provision of first line ARV drugs and CD4 cell counting. DFID funded a pilot programme in Uruguay to provide essential laboratory equipment, including CD4 cell counting, backed up with technical training. This enabled key lessons to be learnt.

DFID is supporting ARV and CD4 scale-up both through direct bilateral programmes focussed on AIDS and more broadly on scaling up health systems, as well through our investments in multilateral instruments, notably the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM), to which we gave £100 million this year. The GFATM has provided anti-retroviral therapy to over 600,000 people in developing countries.

Private Finance Initiative

Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total capital value is of each private finance initiative scheme overseen by his Department which has reached financial close; over what period repayments will take place; and what the total cost of repayment will be. [103521]

Hilary Benn: DFID has no private finance initiative projects and therefore none which has reached financial close.

Sudan

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department has provided to the Beja people of eastern Sudan to combat (a) food insecurity, (b) child mortality and (c) gender inequality. [105891]


29 Nov 2006 : Column 704W

Hilary Benn: DFID does not collate information on an ethnic basis from eastern Sudan: our programmes aim to help poor people living there, regardless of ethnic origin.

Much of our work in the region is focused on providing greater food security, and preventing child malnutrition. We are helping in a number of ways. DFID is supporting two agencies, Oxfam, and Action Contre la Faim (ACF), who are working to address the underlying causes of food insecurity, for example by developing water resources, by re-stocking livestock, and by relieving many of the poorest agro-pastoralists in Red Sea state from chronic indebtedness. Through the UN we are also funding a number of agencies supporting food security and livelihoods initiatives.

We are supporting ACF’s child feeding programme in Red Sea state, which is providing life saving supplemental and therapeutic feeding to under-fives. The programme is also attempting to better understand and address the causes of child malnutrition, particularly access to clean water and sanitation. Our contributions to the UN are also supporting nutrition programming in the east.

DFID is helping to finance GOAL’s primary health care programme in Kassala state. This provides basic and life-saving health services to adults and children.

While DFID does not have a specific gender programme in eastern Sudan, we work hard to ensure that our partners integrate the needs of women into all the programmes we support.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has for mine clearance in the East of Sudan. [105892]

Hilary Benn: Sudan’s borders with Ethiopia and Eritrea are thought to be heavily mined, and the signing of the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement brings hope that these areas will be opened for mine marking, clearance, and education by the UN and other agencies. Together with the lack of basic services, the presence of mines in the East is considered to be a major deterrent to return for both the internally displaced and refugees.

This year, with others, DFID has provided around $175,000 in support of mine action in eastern Sudan, through a pooled humanitarian funding mechanism administered by the UN. Next year’s allocations have yet to be determined.

World Bank

Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will withhold the UK’s contribution to the World Bank until the fundamental reforms agreed at the G8 summit have been implemented. [103799]

Hilary Benn: I do not believe that withholding UK funding to the World Bank would be appropriate. We provide core funding to the World Bank for three-year periods and it is right that we honour our commitments. Last year, the UK announced a contribution of £1,330 million to the 14th replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA-14), the arm of the World Bank which provides grants and concessional
29 Nov 2006 : Column 705W
loans to the world’s poorest countries. Withholding such funding would be damaging to the poor. It would mean that valuable development projects would have to be stopped. It would also mean that our share of the debt cancellation agreed at Gleneagles would be unfunded. The UK worked hard to achieve the debt deal, which has already cancelled all the debts owed to the IMF, the World Bank and the Africa Development Bank of 20 of the poorest countries in the world.

Last year the UK also announced a supplementary contribution of £100 million to IDA-14, linked to progress by the World Bank in working more effectively with other donors and reforming the way it attaches conditions to its aid. We have paid the first £50 million following satisfactory Bank progress against the agreed performance indicators. Payment of the second £50 million will depend on whether the Bank has made satisfactory progress in implementing its Good Practice Principles for conditionally adopted last year. We are currently considering a report on this.

At the Gleneagles summit last year, the G8 agreed that developing countries should

We strongly endorse these principles and will continue to encourage the World Bank to promote them in all its operations.

The July White Paper on International Development acknowledges the critical role which the World Bank plays in providing development assistance to developing countries. It also makes clear that the World Bank must reform if it is to remain relevant in a changing world. Four priorities are identified for the Bank:

We are actively pursuing these reforms in collaboration with like-minded partners.


Next Section Index Home Page