§ Mr. LesterTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance his Department is giving to relieve famine in Africa; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. ChalkerWe have committed over £230 million, including our share of EC actions, in emergency assistance to Africa since the beginning of 1989. Of this, over £110 million has been in response to the present food crisis in the six worst affected countries—Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Mozambique, Angola and Liberia. These amounts include the two new pledges, together worth £53 million, which I made on 15 April and 20 May respectively.
I have allocated the £53 million as follows:
- (i) £20 million for food aid and delivery costs apportioned as follows:
- 27,500 tonnes to Sudan
- 27,000 tonnes to Ethiopia
- 8,000 tonnes to Somalia
- 7,500 tonnes to Mozambique
- £1 million for cereals and supplementary food for Angola.
- (ii) £12 million via British non-governmental organizations—NGOs—for emergency relief work in the Horn.
- (iii) £12 million to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for famine and refugee assistance allocated as follows:
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- £5 million for assistance in Africa
- £3 million for the Horn
- £3 million for Mozambican refugees in Malawi £1 million for the Ogaden.
- (iv) £3 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross for humanitarian assistance in Africa particularly in Somalia and Sudan.
- (v) £3 million to NGOs for relief activities in Mozambique and Angola.
- (vi) £2 million to UNICEF and United Nations agencies for activities in the Horn.
- (vii) £1 million to United Nations agencies for activities in Liberia.
I have placed further details of these commitments in the Library of the House.
The allocations for the Horn are made on the assumption that the security situation allows us to deliver humanitarian assistance effectively. At present, the situation in Ethiopia and Somali is uncertain. We shall monitor events carefully and adjust the allocations where necessary.