HC Deb 25 October 2000 vol 355 c139W
28. Mr. Burgon

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Mozambique. [132209]

Clare Short

Almost all those displaced following the severe floods in Mozambique earlier this year have now returned home. Reconstruction and rehabilitation works are under way. These include works on vital health and education buildings. Under Government guidelines houses are being rebuilt using more robust materials. Water and sanitation facilities are also being rehabilitated, and in some cases built where previously there were none.

Landmines have posed a significant humanitarian threat to the people of Mozambique in the past. Although the job of clearing them is far from over, large areas of land have been made safe. We are supporting demining in Zambezia, where most of the Province has now been declared safe from exploded ordnance and landmines.