News From the Department for International Development 00/00
Clare Short today called for a "bigger contribution to emergency assistance and longer-term relief" for Mozambique, as she announced the Department for International Development planned to spend £76 million to help get the country back on its feet.
The International Development Secretary said that just as Britain had been at the forefront of the emergency relief effort so it would play a leading role in international efforts to provide long-term help for rebuilding.
"We need to start planning now for the immediate rehabilitation and longer-term reconstruction efforts, which will require a massive and properly coordinated effort by the international community," said Ms Short.
"The UK has been in the lead in responding to the crisis, having spent over £7 million in emergency aid so far, as well as writing off millions of pounds of debt which Mozambique owed to us.
"Before the floods, we were planning to increase our poverty reduction programme in Mozambique to £76 million over the next two years. This will now be used to help the Government re-build after the disaster. I will also be calling on my colleagues in the World Bank and the European Commission to make a bigger contribution to the emergency assistance and longer term relief effort."
Ms Short revealed she would be talking to World Bank President James Wolfensohn and Poul Neilson, the European Commissioner responsible for Development. She also said that next month's meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington would provide the opportunity to discuss how extra help could be given to countries experiencing severe natural disasters.
Notes to Editors
For an update on the UK's response to the floods in Mozambique, contact DFID Press Office, Tel: 020 7917 0821, or visit the website, at http://www.dfid.gov.uk
Press Enquiries: 0171 917 0600
Overseas (+44 171 917 0600)
Public Enquiries: 0845 3004100 Overseas (+44 1355 84 3132)