HC Deb 16 December 1985 vol 89 cc40-1W

Dr. Mawhinney asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has made any estimate of the amount of money required from the aid budget to feed one person for one day in Ethiopia; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Raison

Using the information in the report of the Ethiopian Relief and Rehabilitation Commission on 8 October 1985, which gives a food requirement of 500 grammes of grain per person per day, I estimate that it costs 12.6 pence to feed one person for one day in Ethiopia with imported food aid, including purchase, shipping and internal transport.

Dr. Mawhinney asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has as to the number of people in Ethiopia who have died of malnutrition in the past six months.

Mr. Raison

We cannot know how many Ethiopians have died of malnutrition in the past six months. It is clear that the suffering has been great, but the scale of the tragedy that loomed a year ago has been much reduced thanks to the resilience of the Ethiopian people and the response of the international community.