§ Mrs. Helen ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of the Departmental Expenditure Limits agreed up to 2007–08 will be spent in pursuit of the water and sanitation Millennium Development Goals targets(a) directly and (b) indirectly through (i) budget support and (ii) other programmes which require access to safe water and sanitation to be fully effective. [186127]
Mr. Gareth ThomasDFID's support for the water sector is predominantly through our country programmes and support to multi-lateral institutions. This includes direct water sector activities, improvements attributed through assistance to other sectors such as health and education, as well as through our poverty reduction budget support, where expenditure reflects developing countries' own priorities and our assistance is coordinated with that of other donors. DFID works to assist countries to use their budgets to make the biggest impact on reducing poverty. DFID's Water Action Plan published in March 2004 and available on our website: www.dfid.gov.uk emphasises the importance of water and sanitation in all aspects of development.
DFID does provide significant support to the water sector; DFID's bilateral expenditure alone was estimated at £87 million in 2001–02. DFID is currently undertaking work to update it's estimates and project our likely expenditure on water-related activities through to 2007–08, both bilaterally and multilaterally, including the results of DFID's initial resource allocation round in autumn 2004.
Critically, during 2005, the international community will be reviewing progress against all the MDGs, including the water and sanitation targets, and there will be a special UN General Assembly discussion. Leading up to that, the UK and other parties will be reviewing what further action needs to be taken on water and sanitation at the UN Commission for Sustainable Development in April 2005.
950WThe following table details monetary aid from DFID's national programmes that cover the Central Highlands provinces where most of the Montagnard people live in Vietnam.