§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the assistance given by her Department to increase the provision of clean water to(a) Zambia, (b) Lesotho, (c) Mozambique, (d) Zimbabwe, (e) Swaziland and (d) Botswana. [85644]
§ Clare ShortIn Zambia, DFID is providing basic infrastructure and other services, including water supply systems and sanitation improvements, in urban areas of Lusaka and Livingstone. So far, 420,000 urban and peri-urban poor have improved their livelihoods as a result of the project.
In Lesotho, our current support is focused on their Poverty Reduction Strategy, which includes the water sector within a comprehensive approach to planning government and donor spending.
In Mozambique, DFID is providing £3.8 million through UNICEF to a Rural Water Supply and Sanitation project in Zambezia Province in Northern Mozambique. The expected outcome is to develop and implement a Provincial Rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Master Plan. This will include affordable water and sanitation options for poor communities. It will prioritise under-served geographical areas and will operate in partnership with the Provincial Government.
In Zimbabwe, DFID's programme is focused on the humanitarian crisis but we spent £8 million in the late 1990s on helping to develop national water policy, and assisting the implementation of the Integrated Rural Water and Sanitation Programme in Bikita and Lupane Districts.
In Swaziland, DFID has provided £1.98 million, with matched funding by the Government of Swaziland, for a three year rural water supply programme building the capacity of rural communities to manage their water supply systems. Consideration is also being given to some funding for school water supplies as part of the current emergency relief programme.
225WIn Botswana we are only indirectly involved in rural water supply, through a £2 million contribution to the Government's recently approved Sustainable Rural Livelihoods Programme, intended to support a broad range of initiatives having an impact on rural poverty.
DFID is also supporting the water sector in southern Africa through regional initiatives, including £0.9 million of support to the regional office of the Global Water Partnership, and have made provision for £ 2.0 million to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) aimed at both capacity building and support for specific pro-poor projects in the water sector.