DFID does not maintain an agreed list of ‘states affected by conflict’. We do have a list of fragile states which we are currently reviewing as countries frequently move in and out of fragility and conflict, and political circumstances in a country can rapidly change. This list will include countries that are generally recognised to be conflict-affected. Detail on DFID’s definition and the list of fragile states can be found in DFID’s policy paper, “Why We Need to Work More Effectively in Fragile States”, page 7 and annex 1, which is available in the House of Commons Library. As part of the Government’s 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR07), DFID is reviewing how to maximise value for money from our spending on fragile states.
Our regular cycle of DFID Country Programme Evaluations (CPEs) includes states affected by conflict. In 2005, we teamed up with four other donors to do a joint evaluation of our work in Afghanistan. For 2007, we are planning CPEs for Nepal and Indonesia. We also do specialist reviews of our work on particular themes related to states affected by conflict: for example a review is currently under way of our support to security and justice sector reform in Africa. We are also planning an evaluation of our work in ‘fragile states’ for 2007-08. Finally, we intend to pilot a ‘conflict audit’ in a number of countries, which will help us review how well we integrate conflict into all our development work.
To maximise the effectiveness of development assistance to states affected by conflict, DFID—with other Government Departments, donor agencies, country partners and civil society—conducts conflict assessments. These help us to better understand the conflict dynamics within a region/country and ensure that at a minimum development assistance does not inadvertently fuel conflict, through, for example, being blind to the distributional impacts of aid. More than this, the assessments feed into our broader country planning processes, helping us to identify where our development assistance can be most effective. In Yemen, for example, our conflict assessment highlighted how poor access to justice and security was a significant conflict risk factor and led us to support the development of an integrated justice sector development programme.
I receive numerous representations in relation to aid provision. Given that DFID does not maintain an agreed list of ‘states affected by conflict’, the only way in which this question could be answered would incur disproportionate costs.
The primary source of global data on out-of-school children is the Education for All Global Monitoring Report. The 2007 report was launched on 26 October.
DFID does not maintain an agreed list of ‘states affected by conflict’. We do have a list of ‘fragile states’ which we are currently reviewing, as countries frequently move in and out of fragility and conflict, and political circumstances in a country can rapidly change. This list will include countries that are generally recognised to be conflict-affected. Detail on DFID’s current definition and list of fragile states can be found in DFID’s policy paper, “Why We Need to Work More Effectively in Fragile States”, page 7 and annex 1, which is available in the House of Commons Library.
Using the DFID list of ‘fragile states’, data fromthe 2007 Global Monitoring Report and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics estimates for countries without published data, the percentages of primary-aged children enrolled in primary school in these states is calculated as 69 per cent.