Vol. 502 No. 6
28 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the appalling situation in the west African state of Niger, where hundreds of thousands of children are being killed and disfigured by the wasting disease, Noma; the plans, if any, he has to provide special aid to help deal with this situation in view of the fact that a mouthwash costing as little as £2 can prevent the disease; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8941/99]
I am aware of recent media reports on the desperate state of medical care in Niger where one in three children are estimated to die before the age of five due to a variety of preventable diseases including polio, measles and Noma. Such diseases are often on such a scale that governments in developing countries do not have the capacity to combat them effectively and must seek the help of international organisations such as the World Health Organisation. Ireland supports the work of the World Health Organisation in combating such diseases in developing countries through our annual funding to its core programmes.
