§ 28. Liz BlackmanTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on her Department's assistance to Pakistan. [21910]
§ Clare ShortWe are committed to supporting Pakistan's economic and social development for the long haul. This includes support for the Road Map to Democracy announced by President Musharraf in August 2001, which envisages national elections by October 2002.We are working closely with the international financial institutions and other multilateral organisations to ensure sustainable improvements in the lives of poor people in Pakistan. Our bilateral assistance is designed as a contribution to this wider international effort; and my Department meets the UK share of expenditure by the World bank, Asian Development bank, European Commission and UN agencies.
351WOur bilateral programme is focused on three objectives: creating the economic conditions for poverty reduction; strengthening health systems and improving quality and management in education. These are pursued through support to the process of devolution; support to rural livelihoods; and support to the development of the poverty reduction strategy paper.
In health, we are working to improve access to —and quality of —public health services, especially for the poorest. For example, we are helping to improve reproductive health through support for social marketing of condoms through Population Services International. We are also working up an HIV/AIDS drug harm prevention project. On education, we are supporting the implementation of the devolution of education management to provincial and district levels in North West Frontier Province and Northern Areas. We are also helping to raise quality standards by collaborating on reform of the National Education Assessment System.
In terms of support for the political reform effort, examples of these are the assistance my Department is providing to improve the quality of governance by supporting the Elections Commission in the run up to next year's provincial and national elections, and the National Reconstruction Bureau in its deliberations on constitutional reform. We are also focused on working
352W with the appropriate Government Departments and civil society groups to address gender discrimination and violence against women.
Pakistan bilateral aid programme Projects Project budget (£000) Education Punjab Middle School Project 4,900 NWFP Primary Education (including contribution to PEPCO) 6,500 Northern Areas Education 3,900 Sindh Education Foundation 150 Support for National Education Foundation 167 Support to IED, Aga Khan Uni-Policy Research and Decision Making Education 80 National Education Assessment System and MSU Workshops 140 WB and BC Courses on Education Reform 91 Review Present Status of EMIS and Edu GIS in Pakistan 33 Sub total 15,961 Health Private Sector Population KSM/FG 9,886 Chitral Primary Health Care III 3,380 PAVHNA: Phases I and II 4,382 Surveys of Sexually Transmitted Diseases 700 Evaluation of Lady Health Workers Programme 1,207 Lady Health Worker Programme 5,200 FPAP Doorsteps Project 517 Social Marketing of Condoms (PSI/SMP) 4,073 The Network 1,808 Marie Stopes International—Khaipur 1,828 HIV-Aids Drug Harm Reduction—Main Project 600 Neelum Valley AJK 1,186 Health and Population Section (including Hon. and P Adviser) 1,327 TB Scoping Mission (PPP) and Follow-up 75 NWFP Devolution/Reform Support—Prep 50 HIV Aids Mainstreaming 20 NWFP Drugs 1,000 Balochistan Drugs 1,000 Sub total 38,239 Water/Sanitation Rural Water Supply and Sanitation NWFP 6,500 Sub total 6,500 In recognition of Pakistan's reform progress to date, and to support the new three-year Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility agreed with the IMF earlier this month, I have allocated a further £15 million for budgetary aid this financial year, and £45 million for each of the subsequent two years. This is in addition to the on-going technical assistance programme, and represents a major increase in our engagement with Pakistan's medium-term reform programme.
As announced in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, North (Jeremy Corbyn) on 15 October 2001, Official Report, column 802W, I have also allocated £11 million of short-term assistance to help host communities affected by the refugee influx.
§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the projects which she is funding in(a) part and (b) whole in Pakistan; and what is the cost involved in each case. [22978]
§ Clare ShortThe following projects are being, or have been, funded by my Department in the current financial year 2001–02. Implementation periods can range between a few weeks to several years.
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Pakistan bilateral aid programme Projects Project budget (£000) Human Rights (including Gender Equality) Protect Rights and Livelihoods of Working Children 1,225 JPO for UNICEF (Shiona Hood) + Extension 232 Gender Equality Project 2,800 Violent Crimes Against Women (VCAW) 700 Safety, Security and Access to Justice 90 Sub total 5,047 Economic Management/Public Sector Reforms Pakistan WTO Trade Policy Project 1,081 General Sales Tax Reforms Phases I–III 2,378 Governance and World bank (includes NAB, NRB and Civil Service Reform (TR)) 170 Social Sector Public Expenditure Analysis 40 PRGF Budget Support 15,000 Sub total 18,669 Electoral Systems Transition to Democracy UNDP Support for Elections 1,200 Analysis of Local Elections (PATTAN) 50 Democracy Study 100 Support for Democratic Elections 63 Sub total 1,413 Corruption National Accountability Bureau (NAB) 81 Anti-Corruption Strategy 350 Sub total 431 Sustainable Livelihoods AKRSP Chitral Phase III 8,120 AKRSP Gilgit 1997–2001 8,000 Lachi Poverty Reduction Project 2,900 NWFP SRSP Capacity Building 1,830 Alternative Patterns of Land Tenure (Haris Gazdar Study) 52 RSP Network Project 1,032 Faisalabad Area Upgrading I-G.cd 018–001 12,520 Traidcraft 'PRIDE' Feasibility Study 90 Micro Finance for Women—KASHF 3,200 Micro Finance Group 300 SRSP Community Infrastructure 1,120 Sub total 39,164 Poverty Policy Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPA) 2,562 Assistance to PIHS Phase II —Extension 1,498 Building Capacity for Poverty Analysis—Main Project 300 Sub total 4,360 Environment Clean Fuels Study 165 Sub total 165 Other Small Grants Scheme (SGS) 176 BHC Development Section Project (BHCDSP) 2,920 Sub total 3,096 Projects funded by Civil Society Department Civil Society Challenge Population Concern—Integrated Rural Reproductive Health Project (Lahore) 210 Joint Funding Scheme Learning for Life—Community Education Programme 237 Population Concern—Kohat Family Planning and Mother and Child Health 278 Sub total 725 Total 133,770