---

Zimbabwe

May I make a little more progress? I know that I told the hon. Gentleman to be quicker on his feet, but he might on this occasion have risen a little too quickly. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development would have expanded further on the issue of such assistance in closing the debate—which he wished to do—were he not currently in Sudan dealing with another pressing problem with which Members will be familiar. However, I can inform Members that we are one of the three largest donors to Zimbabwe, and that UK money is helping to keep hundreds of thousands of people alive. Last year, we committed more than £33 million to humanitarian programmes, including food aid. In the last five years we have given £35 million to tackle the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and we have committed a further £47 million for the next three years.