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Dept for International Development

Answer

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the Department is taking to combat hunger and malnutrition in the Middle East. [193745] Mr. Gareth Thomas: World Bank figures show that overall around 15 per cent. of children under the age of five in the Middle East and North Africa show some signs of malnutrition. According to the UN's Human Development Report, around 33 per cent. of Yemen's total population, and 27 per cent. of Iraq's population was undernourished in 2000. Figures for Palestinian refugees are also high. In Yemen, the only low-income country in the region, DFID's programme is directed at supporting the Government's Poverty Reduction Strategy, which includes social protection. The European Commission's programme of around è15 million a year has as its main element support for long-term food security. Approximately 17 per cent. of all EC funding (including humanitarian) is attributed to DFID's budget. This year, DFID has contributed £12.35 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees, some of which is used for food aid. Since the start of the Intifada in 2000, the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) has provided è118 million of aid to vulnerable Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and elsewhere in the Middle East, assistance that has included food, health care and water and sanitation. In Iraq, the Public Distribution System (PDS) for food has provided a basic ration for more than 60 per cent. of the population since 1991. After the end of Saddam's regime in 2003, DFID helped to re-establish the PDS. Evidence from a UNDP survey undertaken in spring 2004 suggests that stunting and chronic malnutrition remain unacceptably high. DFID's assistance through organisations such as WHO and UNICEF is helping to address this problem. In the longer term we are working on economic reform in Iraq, including reform of the PDS, which takes into account the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable sections of society. DFID has also been planning a programme of work on social protection mechanisms to complement work on economic reform, which will benefit poor people.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

425 c1230-1W; 193745

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Development aid International assistance Iraq Palestine Middle East Yemen EU aid Food aid Malnutrition

Contains statistics

Yes