HC Deb 01 February 1999 vol 324 c436W
Mr. Streeter

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of the humanitarian needs arising in Somalia. [68100]

Clare Short

The UN 1999 Consolidated Appeal for Somalia estimates that at least one million people will need emergency assistance, of whom more than 300,000 are at high risk. The main challenge is to prevent the deteriorating food situation in the south developing into a famine. I have recently agreed a £300,000 contribution towards United Nations Children's Fund supplementary feeding programmes in the area. The EC have provided 10,899 metric tonnes of food at a cost of £6 million which includes a UK contribution of £1.2 million.

The World Food Programme have sufficient food stocks to last until March and we will continue to monitor the situation closely.

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