§ 83. Mr. Harry GreenwayTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to make further aid available to Tanzania.
§ Mr. Chris PattenI have just returned from Tanzania, where I announced a new pledge of £20 million of fast-spending balance of payments support. This will be part of the World Bank's new initiative for co-ordinating such aid for poor, debt-distressed countries in sub-Saharan Africa that are following adjustment programmes. It brings our pledges in support of Tanzania's economic recovery programme since August 1986, when it reached an agreement with the IMF, to over £70 million.
§ Mr. GreenwayI congratulate my hon. Friend on our aid to Third world countries. Will he take account of the figures given last week that there will be 1 million AIDS sufferers worldwide by 1990, a substantial number of whom will come from Tanzania and elsewhere in Africa? They are posing a threat not only to the continent of Africa but to Britain and Europe. What will his Department do to alleviate this problem?
§ Mr. PattenMy hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the importance of this issue. While I was in Tanzania, I announced a contribution of £1.5 million, to be made through the World Health Organisation, to help with the Tanzanian AIDS control programme.