§ Mr. John Ellisasked the Minister of Overseas Development if she will take steps to provide aid to help ease transport problems iii the famine region of the Sahel.
§ Mrs. HartWith the help of my Ministry the Disasters Emergency Committee is buying 20 4–ton lorries from the British Army for food distribution in Niger. The convoy will leave as soon as the necessary transit arrangements have been made. The cost of its operation in Niger will be met from our recent contribution of £500,000 to the United Nations Sahelian Trust Fund. I am deeply concerned about the stories coming out of the Sahel and in no doubt about the plight of the people trying to survive in the area. I am, therefore, sending my Parliamentary Secretary to the region next week to carry out an on-the-spot examination of the relief operations.