Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 233: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding Ireland's relationship with the Kingdom of Lesotho. [41947/06]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Lesotho has a special place in the history of Ireland's official development assistance. The Lesotho aid programme, established in 1975, was our first and for many years our largest development cooperation programme.

Lesotho is one of the world's poorest countries, ranked 149 on the UN Human Development Index (HDI). Half the population lives below the poverty line with an income of less than $1 a day. Over 30% of the adult population are living with HIV/AIDS, which is one of the highest rates of infection in the world.

Ireland's aid programme in Lesotho has expanded significantly in recent years, with the budget increasing from €6 million in 1999 to €9.2 million in 2006. Our aid is primarily directed at rural communities located in the remote mountain districts where poverty is deepest, with a clear focus on health and education. Irish Aid also assists in the improvement of basic infrastructure in rural areas — roads, footbridges, water supplies and sanitation facilities.

Tackling HIV/AIDS continues to be a high priority for Irish Aid in Lesotho. The approach is a comprehensive one, which places equal emphasis on preventing the spread of the pandemic and on the care and treatment of those who have fallen victim to the virus. This year almost €1 million has been allocated to HIV/AIDS-related initiatives under the bilateral country programme.

In addition, in September 2006, Ireland extended its partnership with the Clinton Foundation to include Lesotho. Under this new agreement, Irish funding for the Foundation's work in Lesotho will reach €10 million over the next five years. The focus of the partnership is support to the national responses of Lesotho to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, particularly in the areas of testing and counselling, the provision of anti-retroviral treatments and critical support for the national health systems.

Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 234: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the assistance Ireland is giving to fight AIDS in Africa under the global campaign Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS. [41948/06]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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The HIV/AIDS pandemic presents a major challenge to developing countries, especially in Africa.

Children are severely affected. In sub-Saharan Africa 12 million children under the age of 17 have lost one or both parents to AIDS and it is estimated that the figure will rise to over 15 million by 2010. Children account for 14% of new global HIV infections and 18% of AIDS related deaths.

In response to the increasing vulnerability of children infected and affected by HIV, UNICEF launched a Global Campaign 'Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS' in late 2005. The Campaign works with partners to provide and mobilise support for child-focused comprehensive national AIDS programmes that are fully integrated within reproductive, child and adolescent health, education and social welfare programmes. It seeks to address four key needs of children infected and affected by HIV: preventing the transmission of HIV from mother to child during birth; providing paediatric treatment for those infected; preventing infection among adolescents, and protecting and providing support for children affected by HIV including orphans.

Speaking at the launch of UNICEF's Global Campaign in Ireland, the Taoiseach announced that up to 20% of additional Irish Aid funding for HIV and other communicable diseases would be allocated to interventions that benefit children. This commitment was reiterated in the Government's recently published White Paper on Irish Aid. The Government is honouring its commitment through Irish Aid's work at global, regional and country levels with a range of partners including governments, multilateral organisations and non-governmental partners. International agencies including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria provide funding for programmes to meet the needs of children. Ireland is a strong supporter of the Global Fund and to date €60 million in funding has been released to that organisation.

The recently signed agreement with the Clinton Foundation will support the provision of paediatric treatment and the prevention of mother to children transmission of HIV-AIDS in Mozambique and Lesotho. On World AIDS Day the Clinton Foundation announced a major breakthrough in securing reduced prices for paediatric anti-HIV drugs. Direct support to orphans and vulnerable children for school assistance, health, nutrition and psycho-social care is a key component of our bilateral assistance programmes in Zambia and Uganda and our regional AIDS programme. Irish Aid supports research related to school-based HIV prevention in Zambia and Tanzania. Our support to Ghana's national HIV response specifically focuses on children through the work of UNICEF.

This year, funding of over €8 million has been approved for UNICEF to implement two programmes in direct support of their Global Campaign. The first, in Ghana, focuses on the four components of the Campaign with a particular emphasis on empowering young boys and girls to protect themselves from HIV infection. The second, in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, focuses on six countries in the region which are experiencing the fastest growth in HIV infection rates and provides a package of services for adolescents who are most at risk of HIV infection.

Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 235: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs what countries are being assisted by Irish Aid; and if he will make a statement detailing the budget in each case. [41949/06]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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While Irish Aid provides assistance through different partners in over ninety countries worldwide, the primary focus of the bilateral aid programme is on eight programme countries, six of which are in Africa and two in Asia. These are Ethiopia, Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Timor Leste and Vietnam. The approximate budgets for each country in 2006 are as follows:

Details of funding to other countries can be found in the Irish Aid Annual Reports which are available for download on the Irish Aid website: www.irishaid.gov.ie

In the recently launched White Paper on Irish Aid , the Government announced that in the medium term the number of programme countries will increase from eight to ten. Malawi is to be the ninth Irish Aid programme country. In addition, Irish Aid will increase its support to fragile states, with a specific focus on Liberia and Sierra Leone in West Africa.