§ John BarrettTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance has been offered to the government of Burundi for the improvement of medical facilities for the delivery of new malaria treatments. [147822]
§ Hilary BennThere has been no assistance to the Government of Burundi for the improvement of medical facilities for the delivery of new malaria treatments. However we are providing assistance through international NGOs and UN agencies, as are other donors, to cover urgent humanitarian needs. This includes funding for Medecins Sans Frontieres who have helped introduce the new malaria protocol. This year we are also providing funding of £250,000 to the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the implementation of the new protocol. WHO will be working closely with the Government of Burundi.
§ John BarrettTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on cholera levels in Burundi. [147824]
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§ Hilary BennAccording to WHO, the last confirmed outbreak of cholera in Burundi was in 2002. Since then there have been no further reports of outbreaks.
§ John BarrettTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress is being made towards the rehousing of those left homeless by the storm in the Bubanza province of Burundi. [147825]
§ Hilary BennIt is reported that on Sunday 4 January 500 people in Mpanda Commune in the northwestern province of Bubanza were made homeless by a storm which destroyed 102 houses and a primary school. DFID have not responded to this problem directly. We are however providing support to humanitarian work in Burundi amounting to £1.18 million so far this financial year.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has to visit Burundi. [148110]
§ Hilary BennI have no plans to visit Burundi at the moment.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Burundi. [148116]
§ Hilary BennDFID closely monitors the humanitarian situation in Burundi through our office in Bujumbura, and through regular contact with NGOs and the UN. The UK takes a leading role in the donor support group in Burundi the objective of which is to improve assessment, co-ordination and response.
We concur with the recent UN assessment that the current major problems faced by Burundi are insecurity, disease and malnutrition. Life expectancy plummeted from 53.8 years in 1992 to 40.9 in 2001; there is just one doctor for every 100,000 people; the infant mortality rate for under-fives has nearly doubled from 100 per 1,000 in 1993 to 190 per 1,000 in 2001; and 69 per cent. of the population is under-nourished.
The UK participated in last week's Burundi Partners' Forum jointly hosted by UNDP and the Government of Belgium in Brussels. The meeting was successful in mobilising commitments of over $1 billion in donor support over the period 2004 to 2006, as well as making progress in establishing a simple co-ordinated framework to make more effective use of the donor funds being made available.