Ethiopia (Hansard, 13 June 2003)

§ John Barrett
To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in the Bidre resettlement site in Ethiopia; and what action his Department is taking to improve the(a) accommodation facilities, (b) food relief and (c) access to water within the camp. [115734]

§ Hilary Benn
We have not had direct involvement with the Bidre resettlement site. However, we have engaged with the Ethiopian Government and other donors, both through dialogue and joint field visits, to assess the overall impact of the resettlement programme. While some resettlement sites have positive potential, the speed of this programme and limited resources have also resulted in problems. Accommodation, food and water are critical in some sites and must be addressed as a matter of urgency. At the same time, we will work with the Ethiopian Government to help them learn lessons from these early experiences before expanding the programme further.
In addition, the Ethiopian Government have been providing food and non-food humanitarian assistance to address humanitarian issues, such as food and water, on resettlement sites. We have been playing a significant role in responding to the overall humanitarian situation in Ethiopia, with more than £48 million of humanitarian assistance being provided since the beginning of 2002.
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§ John Barrett
To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what action he is taking to assist people who have suffered from the flooding in southern Ethiopia. [115739]

§ Hilary Benn
The rains in Ethiopia have brought flooding to parts of the Somali region in Ethiopia. It is reported that about 119 people have died and some 110,000 have been forced from their homes.
A large relief operation is under way, although the UN report that lack of access to affected areas has hampered operations. The Ethiopian Government have used cargo planes to bring in emergency supplies and high-energy food for the victims in the region, and have provided a helicopter. UNICEF, ICRC and the regional government have also been transporting emergency medical kits, water treatment facilities, shelter material and jerry cans. WFP have warned that food aid needs may have to be reassessed because of the flooding.
Of the over £48 million of humanitarian assistance that DFID has provided for Ethiopia since the beginning of 2002, a substantial proportion has been for the work of ICRC, UNICEF and WFP.

§ John Barrett
To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if he will make a statement on recent levels of malaria in the Somali region of Ethiopia. [115740]

§ Hilary Benn
Following a recent visit by the World Health Organisations (WHO) Ethiopia country office to the flood affected Somali region, the WHOs Communicable Disease Control Centre in Geneva confirm there is no Malaria epidemic. However, the WHO will continue to monitor the situation given the unstable and seasonal nature of Malaria transmission in the country.

§ Mr. Laurence Robertson
To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development how much of the food aid promised by the Government to Ethiopia has been delivered; and if he will make a statement. [116133]

§ Hilary Benn
Since September 2002, Government contributions for cereal food aid have been as follows:
In October 2002 we provided over £1.4 million Save Children (UK) for the purchase of 6,400 metric tonnes of cereal, which has been delivered.
We made a contribution of £15 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) in December 2002 and a further £2million in March 2003. Of this 86,335 metric tonnes of cereal, 78.000 metric tonnes was distributed in February and March 2003. The balance is being transported for distribution in areas that will not be accessible during the rainy season. We are in the process of making another payment of £8 million to the WFP, which WFP expect to quickly deliver as food aid by drawing down cereals from the Ethiopian Food Security Reserve.
Along with other donors, we provided £2 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross Emergency Appeal this February. At the end of April 2003, 13,500 metric tonnes of food aid and 1,700 metric tonnes of seeds had been provided from the Appeal.