§ Chris McCaffertyTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he expects the United Kingdom Government will reach the target of 0.7 per cent. of gross national product spent on overseas development aid; and if he will make a statement on the percentage allocated to reproductive health programmes. [132310]
§ Hilary BennThe Government remain firmly committed to the 0.7 per cent. target. Although there is no timetable for reaching the target, the trend in the ratio of official development assistance (oda) to Gross National Income (GNI) has been upward since 1997, when it was 0.26 per cent. By 2005–06 the ratio will be 0.4 per cent. the highest since 1981.
DFID spent over £270 million on reproductive health and HIV/AIDS programmes in the financial year 2002–03. We regard reproductive health as an essential and inseparable element of good health. We believe that the best way to deliver this is for people to be given the right, freedom and support necessary to enable them to take full individual and personal control of their own fertility and reproductive health. Reproductive health continues to be a priority for DFID and we remain firmly committed to the 1994 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) target of achieving access to reproductive health for all by 2015.
The allocation of funds under the UK international development programme is decided on the basis of country programmes, agreed following discussions with partner governments, and also depends on the existence of effective partners in the country, either government, international or civil society organisations, to ensure that the funding is well spent and achieves its objectives.
DFID support for reproductive health is wide ranging. It covers HIV/AIDS programmes, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections and maternal and adolescent health. Reproductive health 512W also encompasses the services for family planning, contraception and childbearing that make an important contribution to increasing women's choice and opportunity and to preventing unplanned or unwanted pregnancy. Family planning services also provide an important opportunity to improve sexual health and in particular to increase women's access to methods that help prevent HIV infection. DFID's total expenditure cannot therefore be apportioned between HIV/AIDS and Family Planning, as many reproductive health programmes and projects contribute to both objectives (for example through the provision of information on family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention or the provision of condoms).