§ Mr. StreeterTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of access for aid agencies to refugees along the Guinea-Sierra Leone border. [52470]
§ Mr. Foulkes[holding answer 27 July 1998]: The Department for International Development makes regular assessments of access for aid agencies to refugees in this area in conjunction with the Office for Coordination 461W of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and nongovernmental organizations.
There were problems of access for a period of four weeks during June and July, but from a recent OXFAM assessment and from NGOs working in the camps it is reported that there were sufficient food supplies available during this period. We understand that a humanitarian aid corridor has now been opened, with effect from 11 July.