Afghanistan (Hansard, 21 October 2002)

§ Norman Lamb
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the funding of water treatment projects in and around Kabul. [75219]

§ Clare Short
There are three main organisations working in various areas of Kabul's water system, KFW (German Development Bank), CARE International and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Projects currently being worked on or considered include linking the Loghar Valley Water Supply Scheme to South East Kabul to serve an additional 40 per cent. of its population; a new reservoir for North Kabul; a geological survey to identify deeper aquifers; and a proposal to feed Kabul from the Pansher valley, a project that would include substantial water treatment facilities. Some 5,000 water supply household connections have been repaired and piped water supply has almost doubled in the city since June 2002.

§ Norman Lamb
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many(a) deaths and (b) injuries it is estimated have been caused by unexploded bomblets following the use of cluster bombs in Afghanistan. [75224]

§ Clare Short
UNMAS is currently collating information from the International Committee of the Red Cross on mine and unexploded ordnance casualties throughout Afghanistan as well as additional reports from mine action organisations.
Unfortunately the information gathered is not comprehensive due to the lack of a complete surveillance system. Consequently accurate national level estimates of casualties from specific types of ordnance are not available. However, an upcoming landmine impact survey will provide additional data, and the introduction of the Information Management System for Mine Action, which includes this information as an element of incident reporting, will enhance the capacity for such analysis.

§ Norman Lamb
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on progress being made in the safe disposal of the unexploded bomblets remaining following the use of cluster bombs in Afghanistan. [75225]

§ Clare Short
A total number of 234 BLU Strike areas have been reported to UNMAS by the US forces to date. So far 108 of these areas have been cleared by organisations working as part of the Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan, and the capacity for clearance of CBU has been greatly increased over the last 12 months to increase the rate of completion. At current rates of clearance UNMAS estimate that all known areas will have been cleared in 2003.