§ Ms Oona KingTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on her Department's aid priorities in Burundi. [32277]
§ Clare ShortDFID does not have extensive developmental links with Burundi. We are seeking to support international efforts to promote an end to conflict and achieve a secure and lasting peace. We are at the same time supporting humanitarian programmes largely through non-governmental channels. In the current financial year we have committed £1 million for support for emergency health and nutrition programmes, and for the promotion of human rights and political dialogue. We envisage increasing this support during 2002. In addition the UK's share of ECHO's £20 million humanitarian budget for Burundi in 2001 was some £4 million. We have also committed £5.175 million for the implementation of a three-year project tackling the pressing problem of HIV/AIDS in Burundi, and have provisionally allocated US$1 million to the proposed Multilateral Debt Trust Fund for this country.