Mauritania (Hansard, 27 January 2003)

§ Mr. Robert Key
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of(a) the level of malnutrition and (b) the number of deaths due to malnutrition in the last year in Mauritania. [92760]

§ Clare Short
My Department has not carried out an independent assessment of the level of malnutrition or the number of deaths due to malnutrition in the last year in Mauritania. A survey carried out by the NGO World Vision in November 2002 found acute malnutrition rates amongst children of between 10– per cent. in some parts of the country.

§ Mr. Key
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of food shortages in Mauritania; and if she will make a statement. [92761]

§ Clare Short
The World Food Programme (WFP) estimate that there are 750,000 people affected by food shortages. Reports by NGOs, such as Oxfam and World Vision, support this analysis. We are monitoring the situation closely and are providing assistance through contributions to WFP and Oxfam.