HC Deb 13 June 1973 vol 857 cc316-7W
Mr. Dalyell

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking to help those West African countries which are afflicted with drought; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Wood

The countries affected are Senegal, Chad, Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Upper Volta. The area is not one with which hitherto we have had close ties. I therefore decided that the most effective way Britain could help would be to supply the aid we were able to provide multilaterally rather than bilaterally. Her Majesty's Government therefore responded quickly to the appeal of the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation with a contribution of £300,000 to his 15 million dollar Sahelian Zone trust fund. We were one of the first Governments to do so. This money has already been paid to the Food and Agriculture Organisation and will be used as the Director-General judges best. In addition, the British Government, as a member of the European Community, are playing their full part in the relief efforts which the Community is making in the Sahelian Zone. The British share of the cost of this is likely to be about £435,000. Very substantial relief measures are also being mounted by the World Food Programme, to which Britain is contributing £1.2 million this year.

According to my information, considerable relief supplies are now available in the area and more are on the way. There is a problem of internal transport and I am considering whether we can help, particularly by providing aircraft for the transport of food grain from West African ports.

It is already clear that the problems created by this drought situation will call for long-term as well as short-term measures. Their solution will require the help of a number of donors, both multilateral and bilateral, as well as considerable efforts by the Governments of the area. In the view of Her Majesty's Government, some machinery is needed to co-ordinate these efforts, so that the resources available can be best adapted to the needs of the area as a whole.