§ 5. Mr. Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley) (Con)What discussions he has had on ensuring that aid is targeted towards the poorest areas of Africa. [157875]
§ The Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn)I have regular discussions with African Governments, officials and a wide range of organisations and individuals on where best to target aid. Decisions on where to allocate resources are informed by an analysis of poverty levels, a commitment to poverty reduction and institutional capacity. United Kingdom bilateral assistance to Africa will rise to £1 billion a year by 2005–06.
§ Mr. EvansPrince Harry has recognised that there is a real role for volunteers who want to give up some of their time to go to some of the poorest parts of Africa. It has been announced that he is spending some of his gap year in Lesotho, helping the victims of AIDS. As the Secretary of State will know, there is a skills shortage. A lot of young people are dying of AIDS, and they are the very people who could help out in the epidemic there. I welcome the amount of aid that the British Government are giving to help to combat the epidemic that is ravaging Africa, but can he suggest any practical ways in which we can assist with the effective spending of that money by ensuring that the skills needed to help those who are suffering from AIDS are gained?
Hilary BeanI welcome all the efforts that many voluntary organisations are making to try to contribute to the fight against HIV/AIDS, but the hon. Gentleman raises a fundamental question about capacity. In Malawi, for example, teachers are dying of HIV/AIDS faster than they can be trained, creating a fundamental problem that impacts on the achievement of the millennium development goal of getting kids into primary schools. I recognise that we need, as an international community working with developing country Governments, to think more about how we can bolster and support that capacity, perhaps in ways that we have not been using recently. Work that I have 887 commissioned on this very issue is already under way in the Department. The hon. Gentleman puts his finger on a very big concern, to which we will have to respond.
§ Mr. Tony McWalter (Hemel Hempstead) (Lab/Coop)My right hon. Friend will know that the Science and Technology Committee is conducting an inquiry into how we can translate the wealth and financial resources that he is making available into scientific and engineering expertise, so that those countries can trade and invest their way out of current poverty levels. Will he welcome that inquiry and assure the House that he will give every assistance in promoting it to reach a satisfactory conclusion in those investigations?
§ Hilary BennI indeed welcome the inquiry, and we have already given evidence. We are seeking to apply our scientific research in a way that makes the biggest difference in helping the people of Africa to have a better future, not least in encouraging, ideas and proposals—for example, new ways to plant and care for crops. We have to ensure that the ideas that are the product of that research are disseminated as effectively as possible, so that farmers on the ground know that they can do things differently to increase, for example, their agricultural productivity.
§ Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham) (Con)The motivation behind the establishment of the UN Economic Commission for Africa is to be applauded, and I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on his appointment to it. Does the commission intend to consider the reform of the heavily indebted poor countries initiative? Can he confirm whether it will also consider how to address the $300 million funding gap in relief for southern Africa? Will he tell the House what is the yardstick for measuring the commission's success in 12 months' time?
§ Hilary BennI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for welcoming the Commission for Africa, although I have to say that the fact that the Opposition have decided that they would not protect spending on international development would not help in achieving that objective. The Commission for Africa will consider all the things that he mentions and others, as we search for what more we can do to help Africa—but the worst thing that we could do is reduce the aid that we are giving.
§ Mr. BercowWe have decided no such thing, and the right hon. Gentleman ought to be explicitly clear on that point. Given that there is an AIDS levy in Zimbabwe, but that on my recent visit there I encountered people who are getting no benefit whatsoever from the resources raised by domestic taxpayers, will the commission consider the crisis of governance that is killing people, not only in judicial killings but by neglecting the terminally ill?
§ Hilary BennOn the first point, I simply say that the hon. Gentleman ought to talk to his colleagues about what others have decided for his portfolio. On the second issue, yes, the commission will need to consider good governance because everyone recognises that good governance is absolutely fundamental to the future of Africa.