Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they are giving to the government of Ethiopia to encourage the development of a strong private sector able to sustain economic development and employment.
Answered by Baroness Verma
The UK Government supports the Government of Ethiopia’s vision of becoming an industrialised, resilient country that is less reliant on aid. DFID Ethiopia is investing in an exciting portfolio of programmes to help deliver this, underpinned by rigorous analysis of the key constraints to growth and private sector development.
DFID is helping to create 45,000 jobs and raise the incomes of 65,000 people through our support to key Ethiopian priority sectors; increasing the availability of financial products to 350,000 people through support to micro-finance institutions and banks; and helping to increase incomes for over 1.4 million households by providing land certificates to farmers.
We are also supporting the Government of Ethiopia to use its own resources well to encourage growth and private sector development. We will provide technical advice on public investment to help the Government improve the effectiveness of its spending. This will include bringing in more private sector finance over time, for example through Public Private Partnerships– i.e. a contract between a private party and government which can bring additional financing as well as expertise. In addition, our work on tax will help the Government meet its revenue targets, improve the business environment, limit corruption and increase transparency.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how, and to what extent, they are working with other donor governments to address the current food shortages in Ethiopia.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Opposition Deputy Chief Whip (Lords)
Britain is working closely with the Government of Ethiopia and the international community to ensure adequate funding for drought response activities. Britain’s overall funding for the drought to date is £113 million, making the UK the second largest donor.
In December, the Government of Ethiopia and the United Nations launched an appeal for 2016 to fundraise $1.4 billion (~£923 million) to respond to the drought in Ethiopia. By the beginning of March, 53% of the required funds have been raised.
DFID is an active participant in donor coordination fora in Ethiopia, including Ethiopia’s Development Assistance Group, and works closely with other donor governments to monitor the response and to lobby for support from the Government of Ethiopia and UN appeal.
DFID Ministers have discussed the drought at the highest levels with the Government of Ethiopia. We have been working closely with the Ethiopian Government to support their leadership of the humanitarian response. To date, the Government of Ethiopia has allocated $381 million (~£269 million) to address the crisis.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made regarding the government of Zimbabwe's attempt to access external funding from multilateral financial institutions including the IMF, World Bank and African Development Bank.
Answered by Baroness Verma
The Government of Zimbabwe has been in arrears to the International Financial Institutions for over a decade. This prevents Zimbabwe from accessing any new financing for development from the World Bank, IMF and African Development Bank.
The Government of Zimbabwe presented its plans to clear multilateral arrears at a side meeting during the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings, in October. Bilateral creditors at the meeting, including the UK, broadly welcomed the intention of the Government of Zimbabwe to work towards arrears clearance, but stressed that implementation of reforms would be necessary to achieve debt resolution.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of climate change on the food security situation in the Horn of Africa.
Answered by Baroness Verma
DFID is committed to supporting vulnerable people affected by food insecurity in the Horn of Africa and to supporting governments in the region to anticipate and mitigate the impacts of the climate on food security.
Making a robust assessment of the impact of climate change in the horn of Africa is challenging due to data limitations., The UK is undertaking a range of research that seeks to strengthen our understanding of climate in the region which will in turn assist with improving our assessment of likely impacts and working to help improve the early warning tools. For instance in Ethiopia through our support to ClimDev, DFID has supported the strengthening of Ethiopia’s hydro-meteorological network enabling more accurate measurement and prediction of extreme weather and flooding.
However, we know that the Horn of Africa is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and disaster resilience work is crucial in mitigating effects. In Ethiopia, DFID’s Productive Safety Nets Programme (PSNP) has helped turn desert land into land that can be farmed again. In Kenya, the Hunger Safety Net Programme has helped to protect household assets of the poorest people in Northern Kenya and can scale up to protect those at risk from droughts and floods. This helps families recover more quickly and get back on their feet. DFID is at the forefront of resilience work to prevent and reduce the impact of crises in developing countries.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current food security situation in Ethiopia.
Answered by Baroness Verma
We are extremely concerned about the impact of the current drought on the food security situation in Ethiopia. A joint Government of Ethiopia and UN assessment is underway and we are in touch with our UN and Non-Governmental Organisation partners on the ground to determine the extent of need.
In October, the Government of Ethiopia announced that about 8.2 million people are in need of emergency food aid, up from the 4.5 million estimated in August. The number of severely malnourished children under five years old admitted to therapeutic feeding programmes this year has increased notably.
Britain has acted quickly and decisively by providing emergency support for 2.6 million people. This includes food aid for 2.1 million people for a month. The Government of Ethiopia has also committed its largest ever response to a drought. The international community will need to work hard with the Government of Ethiopia to prevent the crisis from worsening in the coming months.
DFID is at the forefront of resilience work to reduce the impact of crises in developing countries. In Ethiopia, DFID’s Productive Safety Nets Programme (PSNP) has helped turn desert land into land that can be farmed again.