International Development
Debate between Keith Vaz and Stephen O'Brien(12 years, 5 months ago)
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Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab)
How will these excellent priorities help the people of Yemen, almost half of whom are starving?
Mr O'Brien
In Yemen, many of the current challenges are humanitarian. Today, we have announced £26 million of humanitarian support and aid to ensure that some of the needs of the population—nearly half of whom, as the right hon. Gentleman rightly observes, are starving—are met. While we are in the humanitarian phase, that is patently the most important response, but we also need to look at the future of governance and resilience in order to improve the lot of the population.
[Official Report, 23 May 2012, Vol. 545, c. 1119.]
Letter of correction from Stephen O’Brien:
An error has been identified in the oral answer given on 23 May 2012 to the right hon. Member for Leicester East (Keith Vaz).
The correct answer should have been:
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Keith Vaz and Stephen O'Brien(12 years, 6 months ago)
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Mr O'Brien
My hon. Friend makes an extremely important point, and she is right to say that the Copenhagen Consensus puts bundled micronutrient interventions to fight hunger and improve education at the very top of its list of the most desirable activities to achieve maximum impact. Right across our programmes, we have been increasing the delivery of nutrient supplements and fighting hunger. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced in Washington last week that we will be supporting the new alliance for food security and nutrition in order to improve food supply and farming across Africa and help to pull 50 million people out of chronic poverty over the next 10 years.
Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab)
How will these excellent priorities help the people of Yemen, almost half of whom are starving?[Official Report, 12 June 2012, Vol. 546, c. 1-2MC.]
Mr O'Brien
In Yemen, many of the current challenges are humanitarian. Today, we have announced £26 million of humanitarian support and aid to ensure that some of the needs of the population—nearly half of whom, as the right hon. Gentleman rightly observes, are starving—are met. While we are in the humanitarian phase, that is patently the most important response, but we also need to look at the future of governance and resilience in order to improve the lot of the population.