§ 62. Mr. John MarshallTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on emergency relief aid expended under the United Kingdom's aid programme.
§ Mrs. ChalkerProviding immediate and effective humanitarian assistance is one of the key areas of the aid programme. Last year we spent more than £61 million in disaster relief, help for refugees and emergency food aid.
§ Mr. MarshallDoes my right hon. Friend realise that her answer will be warmly welcomed, and that her warm-hearted response to the problems of these countries is supported by the vast majority of people of this country?
§ Mrs. ChalkerI thank my hon. Friend for his comments. The outlook in Ethiopia for next year is bleak. The FAO and US Agency for International Development crop assessment mission will give donors more detailed reports at the end of next month. Meanwhile, I have just announced 19,000 further tonnes of food aid for Ethiopia through the World Food Programme; a further 5,000 tonnes of cereals to the NGO CARE; £500,000 to the Save the Children Fund for the purchase of trucks and spares for the southern line operation; and £600,000 worth of vegetable oil to the UNHCR for Somalian and Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia. We shall continue to monitor the situation extremely carefully and provide further help. Our total emergency aid for Ethiopia so far this year is more than £16.5 million.