Afghanistan (Hansard, 18 October 2001)

§ Mr. Woodward
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what money the European Union intends to make available for Afghan refugees who are(a) outside and (b) within Afghanistan; and when the funding will be made available. [7678]

§ Clare Short
The EC has disbursed €45 million (UK share £8.5 million) of humanitarian and food aid during 2001 to Afghan refugees and internally displaced persons, most of this before 11 September. A further €8 million (UK share £1.5 million) of food aid has been pledged to the World Food Programme but not yet delivered. A further €25 million (UK share £4.7 million) has been pledged by the Commission and should be disbursed later this month. Most of this is channelled through UN agencies and the ICRC, the rest through NGOs.
€22.5 million (UK share £4.4 million) of separate funds will shortly be available for longer term support for refugees in the region, which the Commission aims to disburse in January 2002. This will also be channelled through UN agencies and NGOs.
The Commission is reviewing its plans for 2002. My Department will stay in close touch with them as part of our effort to ensure that the international response to the crisis is Afghanistan is as closely co-ordinated and effective as possible.

§ Angus Robertson
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate she has made of the amount of aid required to prevent starvation in Afghanistan; how much aid has been sent into that country; and if she will make a statement. [8198]

§ Hilary Benn
The World Food Programme (WFP) is responsible for overseeing food aid assistance on behalf of the international community. It estimates that some 52,000 metric tonnes of food are required each month for the 7.5 million most vulnerable Afghans. Since 11 September, WFP has made some progress, having distributed around 15,000 metric tonnes of food inside Afghanistan. However more needs to be done to provide for the Afghan people and lay down stores for the winter.
As I announced last week, we are setting aside £40 million for immediate assistance to the people of Afghanistan. As part of our strategy, we continue to support the WFP and its implementing partners in trying to overcome a number of operational constraints on delivering assistance to Afghans in need. This includes £3 million for the WFP to support its operations in the region.