§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development whether his Department has suspended humanitarian aid to Liberia due to the recent escalation of fighting in Liberia. [119359]
§ Hilary BennWe have increased our support to UN and other humanitarian aid agencies by £1.5 million in response to the displacement by fighting of up to 200,000 people into and around Monrovia. The first two grants we have made from this sum are to ICRC and Merlin. This is additional to the £1 million we provided for International Committee of the Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières in Liberia earlier this year.
This year we have also given a total of £3 million to humanitarian agencies in Guinea and Sierra Leone for programmes directed at or including Liberian refugees.
§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what support the Department is providing to refugees who have fled recent fighting in Liberia. [119360]
§ Hilary BennWe have provided a total of £3 million this year to UN and other agencies for programmes in Sierra Leone and Guinea providing services either wholly or partly for Liberian refugees.
We have also provided £1 million for International Committee of the Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières in Liberia. In response to the recent advances by opposition forces, we have allocated an additional £1.5 million, focusing on assistance to internally displaced people in and around Monrovia, whose situation is causing greatest concern.
§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development whether the Department supports projects working with the Government of Liberia to reduce poverty in Liberia. [119363]
§ Hilary BennWe have no projects directly with the Government of Liberia. The nature of the present Government and the absence of security prevents the establishment of projects to promote development and poverty reduction.
Our activity in Liberia is confined to support for international agencies providing humanitarian relief. We have provided a total of £2.5 million this year for this purpose, including £1.5 million in response to the recent displacement of people into and around Monrovia.
The UK strongly supports the efforts of ECOWAS to negotiate a ceasefire. This the necessary first step towards peace and security, which are the conditions needed for development and poverty reduction programmes to be put in place.
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§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if he will make a statement on the impact of recent fighting in Liberia on the Department's work in(a) Liberia and (b) Sierra Leone. [119358]
§ Hilary BennThere has been no direct impact on our work in Sierra Leone. We have, this year, contributed £1.4 million to UNICEF, ICRC and UNHCR in Sierra Leone. The grant to UNHCR is specifically for care of Liberian refugees. Those to ICRC and UNICEF are for services that include refugees. The instability in Liberia underlines the importance of the strengthening of the security sector in Sierra Leone, which is a key part of our programme.
We have no bilateral programme in Liberia. We support humanitarian programmes managed by UN and other agencies. Earlier this year, we provided £1 million to ICRC and Medecins Sans Fronti"res. In response to the recent worsening of the situation, we have agreed an additional £1.5 million for humanitarian activity. The first two grants from this sum have been to ICRC and Merlin.