§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (1) overseas aid the Government provides for projects to eliminate or reduce indoor air pollution; [164064]
(2) if he will list the overseas aid projects supported by the Government which are aimed at eliminating or reducing indoor air pollution; [164065]
(3) what assessment he has made of the impact of indoor air pollution on health in the world's poorest countries. [164066]
§ Hilary BennThe Department for International Development (DFID) recognises the hazards of indoor air pollution from cooking on poorly designed wood, dung and coal burning stoves—the main source of cooking and heating for half the global population. Women are disproportionately affected because the burden of cooking tends to fall on them. In addition, 1443W high levels of indoor smoke pollution can have a particularly bad effect on the health of small children, increasing mortality from pneumonia.
DFID is working to develop a multi-sector approach to this issue, that takes account of appropriate stove technologies and the behavioural changes required to reduce women and children's exposure to indoor smoke from biomass fuels.
As part of our China programme, DFID is supporting the environmentally sustainable and efficient use of locally available sources of fuel in poor rural areas, whilst working to reduce associated health hazards and improve livelihoods, by co-financing a substantial World Bank managed project on indoor air pollution. This project addresses both technology design and product marketing, and seeks to raise awareness of the effect on health. Earlier DFID-supported research work introduced stove improvements to countries in Africa.
DFID is also supporting the Intermediate Technology Development Group ( ITDG), which is a key player in this area. ITDG's November 2003 report: "Smoke: the Killer in the Kitchen", which addressed the impact of indoor air pollution on health in developing
£ United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) core support 2,000,000 Geneva Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) core support 1,048,455 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) core support 600,000 Demining Advice BARIC Consultants (commercial company) 120,113 United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) core support 500,000 Research AEA/SERCO (commercial company) 24,823 Research and Knowledge—QINETIQ 2002–2004 (commercial company) 288,392 Ottawa Sponsorship Programme (to assist participants from poorer countries attend international meetings on implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty). 16,660 Angola—Halo Trust mine clearance 117,650 Afghanistan—UNMAS demining 2,000,000 Iraq—Mines Advisory Group (MAG) demining 1,000,000 Iraq—UNMAS demining 4,000,000 N Caucasus—UNICEF mine risk education, victim support 60,000 Additionally the UK share of EC funded mine action programmes for the calendar year 2003 is estimated at approximately 8.5 Million Euros. The final figure will be available in June 2004.