§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will publish in the Official Report the text of the letter about the Ethiopian famine from the Minister for Overseas Development to the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton, dated 11 December, following the answer of 27 November, Official Report, column 425–26.
§ Mr. RaisonThe text is as follows: 363W
The Ethiopian Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) say that they have no detailed mortality figures for famine or famine-related diseases, due to the communications difficulties and the impossibility of determining the situation on the ground in large parts of the country. Apparently, the only way to collect reliable statistics would be to canvass each peasants' association, which is regarded as an impossible task given other urgent calls on resources and time.We understand the following mortality statistics are available for November from certain feeding centres:
- (a) Korem: Save the Children Fund (SCF) report November average daily death rate of 28 from camp of 30,000 people. Rate had been 100 per day in October, of which 60 per cent. was due to measles epidemic.
- (b) Bati: RRC report average death rate of 100 per day from centre of some 17,000 people.
- (c) Mekele: The International Committee of the Red Cross report average rate of 30–40 deaths per day in the feeding centre which can take up to 600 children. Relief workers in Mekele say the situation has been improving steadily since about mid-November with greater and more regular food deliveries.
The RRC emphasise that these statistics can only demonstrate the rough magnitude of the problem. In areas without feeding centres the death rate is likely to be higher, ad probably rising, as compared with some established feeding centres where it seems generally to have been falling during November. But some voluntary agencies report the situation in northern Shewa and southern Welo is rapidly deteriorating, while the situation at Mile and Asalta in eastern Welo is also bad. World Vision report feeding 4,500 malnourished children at Alamata in November and providing medical assistance to 6,000 people in Lalibela area in the same period.During my visit it was clear that the massive relief operation now under way — to which the RAF detachment and the British voluntary agencies are making such a significant contribution — has begun to alleviate the problem in many famine areas. In no small measure this is due to the achievement of the RRC in dramatically improving the handling capacity at the port of Assab; and to more effective coordination both between donors and with the Ethiopian authorities.
§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a further statement updating the information contained in his earlier replies to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish, Offical Report, 4 December, column 135, and 3 December, column 14, concerning grain supplies and supplementary food and edible oil requirements in Ethiopia.
§ Mr. RaisonOn 4 December, the European Council pledged that the Community and its member states would provide 1.2 million tonnes of grain to countries in Africa affected by famine before the next harvest; and the President of the United States of America recently announced the release of 300,000 tonnes from the US strategic grain stockpile for the same purpose. It is not yet possible to translate these pledges into a timetable for deliveries to Ethiopia or any other specific country.
Recent reports of supplementary food and edible oil requirements in Ethiopia have varied but on 11 December the United Nations Co-ordinator for Emergency Operations in Ethiopia estimated them to be 100,000 tonnes and 30,000 tonnes respectively, over the next twelve months.
§ Mr. Silvesterasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further help he proposes to provide for those affected by the drought in Ethiopia.
§ Mr. RaisonI am making available £250,000 each to Save the Children Fund, Christian Aid and War on Want. I am arranging for the specific uses of each allocation to be settled with these agencies.