§ 75. Mr. MaclennanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current progress of aid to Ethiopia.
§ Mr. Chris PattenWe have committed over £45 million for famine relief in Ethiopia through bilateral and European Community channels since the beginning of 1987. Emergency aid operations in northern Ethiopia have been severely disrupted by the recent escalation of civil war and the Ethiopian Government's decision that expatriate relief workers should leave Eritrea and Tigré. In other parts of Ethiopia relief operations are proceeding reasonably satisfactorily, although the state of Sudanese refugees in western Ethiopia is a matter of grave concern.
In addition to emergency aid, we are providing technical co-operation, training and assistance with famine rehabilitation including a £1.2 million well rehabilitation project in Welo region.