§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the assistance given by her Department to the relief effort in Nicaragua since Hurricane Mitch. [68454]
§ Clare ShortWe have provided a grant to United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for emergency repairs to water and sanitation infrastructure, and have agreed in principle a further grant to UNICEF to help restore primary health and education services. Regionally, we have given grants to the Pan-American Health Organisation to support national health authorities, principally for epidemic control, and to the United Nations Development Programme to support co-ordination.
We were instrumental in setting up the Trust Fund to help countries affected by Hurricane Mitch meet their debt service payments to international financial institutions, and have committed £10 million to this purpose. Together with other members of the Paris Club, the UK Government have agreed to a moratorium on Nicaragua's debt service payments for the next two years.