Afghanistan (Hansard, 1 July 2002)

§ Joan Ruddock
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the withdrawal of female foreign aid workers from field operations in northern Afghanistan. [65726]

§ Clare Short
We are concerned about reports of insecurity in northern Afghanistan, including sexual attacks on women aid workers. The United Nations temporarily suspended the involvement of female staff on field missions in the north, but this suspension has now been lifted. Some non-governmental organisations have withdrawn staff as a precautionary measure. We support the actions of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General, Lakhdar Brahimi, who has written to President Karzai, and visited the north to discuss security issues with the various factions.

§ Dr. Tonge
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her Department's response has been to the(a) World Food Programme and (b) UNHCR donor appeals for Afghanistan. [65553]

§ Clare Short
The UN World Food Programme's (WFP) current appeal is for %285 million (approximately £204 million) to feed up to 9.8 million people for nine months. Since October 2001. my Department has contributed £7 million towards WFP's operations inside Afghanistan—for both direct procurement and transportation of food, technical support and logistical support to help speed up the movement of food aid into the country.
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We have also provided £3 million to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in response to its %271 million (approximately £194 million) appeal to support its operations for refugees in the region. This has included technical personnel, material and financial support.
We have allocated a further £2 million each to WFP and UNHCR, which will be disbursed shortly.

§ Dr. Tonge
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of the financial assistance committed by the United Kingdom Government to the reconstruction of Afghanistan has been disbursed since April, broken down by UN agency. [65555]

§ Clare Short
Since April the UK has given £5 million to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, the first donor to do so. In addition we have allocated over £10 million to UNAMA, UNDP, UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF and WHO and are currently in discussion with them to identify where the money might best be used. We are also in the process of disbursing £15 million to a range of NGOs, quick-impact projects and to the Afghan Authority for the Co-ordination of Assistance.

§ Dr. Tonge
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her assessment is of the food security situation in Afghanistan. [65554]

§ Clare Short
The food security situation throughout Afghanistan remains grave, as a result of decades of conflict and four years of drought. These shocks have overwhelmed the capacity of Afghan communities to cope with the loss of agriculture and livestock production, unemployment and burgeoning debt burdens. Afghanistan currently meets less than half of its national grain requirements, and around half its population is dependent on food aid. However, improved security and political stability will help provide a better environment for the efforts to improve food security in the country. Since October 2001, my Department has contributed £7 million to the World Food Programme and £2 million to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, for the provision of both emergency food aid and measures to increase food security.