§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the work of Plan UK in setting up day care centres in the Philippines to serve children of working parents. [171695]
Mr. Gareth ThomasThrough our Civil Society Challenge Fund DFID channels £246,669 of funding to an Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) project in the Philippines with Plan UK. This four year project has been running for two years. The project appears to be progressing well albeit a little more slowly than anticipated due to increased demands on partner organisations as a result of new legislation. A mid-term evaluation is scheduled to take place this year.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has received about the activity of girls in Nepal highlighting the problems of school attendance, alcohol consumption and smoking. [171696]
Mr. Gareth ThomasGirls' education and school attendance in Nepal is a serious challenge. Around 25 per cent. of girls of primary school age are out of school, and only 3.25 per cent. of fully trained teachers are female. With other donors, DFID is planning to help the Government implement their Education for All basic and primary education programme. The main aim of the programme will be get an additional 477,000236W children into school by 2009. Particular attention will be paid to recruiting more female teachers, and using block grants and other incentive measures to encourage schools to increase enrolment of girls.
With regards to alcohol consumption and smoking, data on girls in Nepal is very thin and DFID is not actively involved in this area.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what study he has made of the role of children in Haiti in highlighting domestic violence. [171700]
Mr. Gareth ThomasWhile DFID has itself made no study of the role of children and domestic violence in Haiti, the UK Government welcome the concern expressed for the countries 2.7 million children. Haitian children have seen their standards of health, education and protection, already among the lowest in the world, drop even further following the violent events earlier this year. The prevailing insecurity in Haiti continues to make children especially vulnerable to abuse and violence within the community and family structure.
In recognition of this, the UK has provided £500,000 in support of the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), as part of a £1.9 million emergency assistance package approved in April. This is in addition to funds channelled through the EC for emergency assistance to the Haitian population.
UNICEF's primary goal in Haiti, as elsewhere, is to protect and strengthen the rights of children. This is done through a series of activities tailored to local requirements, such as: awareness raising campaigns to discourage and prevent violence against children (particularly street children and domestic servants), the resumption of schooling and support to community groups for women and children.
Given the evolving humanitarian situation, the UK has adopted a flexible approach with respect to its funding, enabling UNICEF to allocate UK resources to immediate priorities for children. In addition, the UK has ensured that its emergency strategy has informed and complemented that of the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), for the benefit of Haitian communities.
DFID's Civil Society Challenge Fund has also funded a project (£190,000, over five years) on Victims of Violence in Haiti which aims to support women through the constitution of a medical/psychological unit for victims of domestic violence.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has received about the activity of ex-child combatants in campaigning against the use of child soldiers in Sierra Leone. [171701]
§ Hilary BennI have not received any representations on this specific issue. In the past, DFID has provided core funding to the Office of the (UN) Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (OSRSG/CAAC), whose programme has included advocacy work using ex-child combatants. This was not, however, specific to Sierra Leone.