§ Mr. Harry GreenwayTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much medical aid is to be given to(a) Somalia, (b) Ethiopia and (c) other third-world countries this year; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydWe provide health-related assistance through our bilateral aid programmes; our support for multilateral organisations; and as part of Britain's humanitarian assistance effort.
We are providing over £100 million a year for health care, water and sanitation and population programmes in developing countries through out bilateral aid programmes and our support for health-related multilateral organisations.
In 1991–92, the last year for which figures are available, we spent £0.288 million under our bilateral country programme to Ethiopia on health-related assistance. We have no bilateral country programme to Somalia.
Our bilateral humanitarian assistance is channelled through UN agencies and non-governmental organisations. It is provided according to need and the ability of agencies to deliver. In 1992, we committeed £2.5 million in Somalia and £1.2 million in Ethiopia and Eritrea of humanitarian assistance for the provision of health care.