HC Deb 21 November 2001 vol 375 cc303-4
4. Vernon Coaker (Gedling)

What assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Angola, with particular reference to children. [14149]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn)

Children and other vulnerable people are bearing the brunt of the continuing conflict in Angola. Some 42 per cent. of Angolan children are underweight for their age, fewer than half of them go to school and under-five infant mortality there is the second highest in the world. The UK has contributed £56 million in development and humanitarian aid since 1993 and we continue to work through UN agencies, NGOs and our contribution to EC assistance. The urgent need, however, is to bring the war to an end.

Vernon Coaker

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. The statistics that he gave show how awful the situation is for children in Angola. Unfortunately, there are no television cameras to record the misery that can be seen there. Having recently visited Angola on a trip with UNICEF, I ask my hon. Friend to consider what we can do to support projects in the southern half of the country, where there is less conflict and they can have the maximum effect. We can then show the children and people of Angola what can be done with good governance.

Hilary Benn

I say to my hon. Friend and to my hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Wyre (Mr. Dawson), who was also a part of that UNICEF-supported visit to Angola, that I very much agree with his point about the need to demonstrate in that country the benefits of peace and stability. We are this year contributing almost £3 million in humanitarian aid through a range of NGOs, which will, in particular, benefit refugee children and their families. As my hon. Friend will be aware, in Luanda, we have the urban poverty programme, which is helping with water supply, micro-finance and child care. However, the fact remains that peace is the necessary precondition for progress in this relatively wealthy country, which has oil. If the Government could direct those resources more towards poverty reduction, the country would have a better prospect for the future.

Tony Baldry (Banbury)

Does the Minister agree that we now need an international coalition against poverty, whether it is Angola or Afghanistan? We would have far greater clout in such a coalition if we could reach the 0.7 per cent. target. It is in all our interests to engage with colleagues in Congress in the United States to ensure that it is outward looking and that it seeks to improve on the rather poor 0.1 per cent. of gross national income that it devotes to development aid. If there is to be a coalition against poverty, it must engage all the richest nations in the world.

Hilary Benn

I endorse all the points made by the hon. Gentleman, Indeed, it seems that a coalition on precisely those points is developing between him as Chairman of Select Committee on International Development and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. The events of the past two months have given all of us—particularly America—pause for thought on the importance of international development in the new world order. There is now a better opportunity in that country to advance the arguments made by the hon. Gentleman than there has been for many years.

Mr. Hilton Dawson (Lancaster and Wyre)

My hon. Friend is aware of the shocking conditions in 13 transit camps in Angola; even by the appallingly low standards of that country, conditions are particularly bad for thousands of people and their children. The Angolan Government have promised to close the camps by the end of the year and move those people to better conditions. The ambassador in Luanda is trying hard to pursue the matter with the Government. Will my hon. Friend bring every pressure that he can muster to bear on the Angolan Government on that vital issue?

Hilary Benn

We certainly shall. As my hon. Friend is aware, a team from the Department for International Development was recently in Angola as part of a review mission. On that occasion, it pressed the precise point made by my hon. Friend—the need to ensure that the Government of Angola honour their commitment to close the camps, which are clearly in an appalling condition.