Written question asked by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative) on Friday, 14 November 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 19 November 2008. It was answered by Douglas Alexander (Labour) on Wednesday, 19 November 2008 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Reconstruction

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of development projects of each type undertaken in (a) Afghanistan and (b) Iraq have been constructed to sphere standards in each month of the last five years.

Answer: The complex environments present in Afghanistan and Iraq render difficult the application of Sphere standards. It is not possible to provide detailed information about the percentage of projects in Afghanistan and Iraq constructed to Sphere standards.However, the principles enshrined within Sphere are used as guidelines by many international agencies in Iraq and Afghanistan, including the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Secondary information