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Dept for International Development

Answer

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with countries affected by the tsunami about the supply of (a) field hospitals and (b) water purification plants. [209594] Hilary Benn: DFID has provided relief items at the request of affected governments and following assessments of need by humanitarian agencies. DFID did not receive any specific request for field hospitals or water purification plants. DFID has responded to health needs through support to organisations working in the health sector. Although it is difficult to be precise at this stage, a large proportion of DFID's support has gone to meet health needs, including £3.1 million to the World Health Organisation and additionally to non-governmental organisations including the International Medical Corps (£327,250) and the Mentor Initiative (£897,000). DFID also provided health related relief items, including enough emergency medical supplies to serve two million people for three months. For water purification, DFID provided 1,000,000 water purification tablets, as well as support to implementing partners working in water and sanitation. This includes £4 million to UNICEF for water and sanitation activities in Indonesia, India the Maldives and Sri Lanka, and £2 million to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

209594; 430 c30-1W

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Disaster relief Health services Humanitarian aid Medical treatments Water Sanitation Water treatment Tsunami Indian Ocean

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk