Vol. 414 No. 10
48 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will outline the contribution which the Government have made to the United Nations special emergency programme for the Horn of Africa, SEPHA; and, given that the number of people suffering famine in the SEPHA region is now assessed at 24.3 million, if he will outline the contribution which is intended to be provided to this appeal in 1992.
The Government are very conscious of the enormous needs existing in the Horn of Africa. It has examined the United Nations consolidated interim appeal on behalf of the special emergency programme in the Horn of Africa area (SEPHA) which first issued in July 1991. The amount requested was $400 million. About one-quarter of that amount has been pledged by donors, leaving a very significant shortfall.
In the course of 1991, the Government provided £910,000 in bilateral emergency assistance to countries in the Horn of Africa. All of these allocations were made prior to the launching of the appeal for the UN special emergency programme.
I am at present considering how I might respond to the United Nations appeal in 1991 or 1992.
