§ Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domerasked Her Majesty's Government:
What estimate they have made, in consultation with international agencies, of the number of street children in Central and South America; and what is the figure for each country in the region. [HL5531]
§ Baroness AmosThere is no internationally accepted estimate of the number of street children in Central and South America as there is neither an agreed definition nor evidence to support any figures that are quoted. Street children form a proportion of the 135 million people that live in poverty in Latin America (on less than 2 dollars per day). In Latin America, we know that some 2 million children are out of school at primary level, and 20 million at secondary level (UNESCO). Some of these will be street children.
§ Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domerasked Her Majesty's Government:
What support they have given to projects involving street children in Central and South America in each of the past five years; and what support they plan to give next year. [HL5532]
§ Baroness AmosThe Government have been providing support through our contribution to reducing poverty generally and through assistance to organisations working with street children, either directly or through our contribution to the work of the European Commission. Full details of direct assistance will be placed in the Library shortly.
There are no current plans to provide additional support directly to street children projects next year from DfID's Latin American programme.
§ Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domerasked Her Majesty's Government:
What effect the new Department for International Development policy on withdrawing aid to middle-income countries is likely to have on the programme of aid to street children in Central and South America. [HL5533]
§ Baroness AmosDfID will be focusing its reduced bilateral programme on working more closely with multilateral donors to enhance their effectiveness in tackling the poverty that leads to children living in the streets. Finance for initiatives to help street children directly will continue to be available from DfID's central funding for British NGOs.