Kosovo (Hansard, 6 July 1999)

§ Mr. Streeter
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if her Department has funded non-Governmental organisations which have supplied out-of-date medicines to Kosovo. [89999]

§ Clare Short
We adhere to the World Health Organisation Guidelines on the donation of drugs, which require pharmaceutical donations to have a minimum of a year's shelf life and be provided against strict need assessment criteria. We have funded the provision of essential drugs in response to the Kosovar refugee crisis through the World Health Organisation itself and through reputable operational agencies which follow the guidelines.

§ Mr. Streeter
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what data her Department has collated on possible breaches of regulations in respect of the supply of out-of-date medicines to Kosovo by British based non-Governmental organisations in the past three months. [90000]

§ Clare Short
The World Health Organisation leads on the collation of data with respect to the international guidelines for the donation of drugs. They have recently reported that up to 65 per cent. of drugs donated to Albania in May have a shelf life of less than a year. Over 100 non-governmental organisations, including British based NGOs, have been active in Albania as a result of the Kosovo crisis. It is likely that many of these are not aware of, or choose not to adhere to, the WHO guidelines. We provide funding for drugs only to NGOs who adhere to the guidelines.
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§ Mr. Streeter
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will hold an inquiry into the supply to Kosovar Albanians of obsolete medical supplies by non-Governmental organisations. [90001]

§ Clare Short
The World Health Organisation, the lead agency for medical supplies and assistance, have recently audited the provision of drugs to Albania during the refugee crisis. The results of the audit have been widely circulated. We have already made it clear that we will only fund the provision of essential drugs in response to assessed need in Kosovo and elsewhere, in line with the standards published by WHO.