To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what account his Department’s forthcoming White Paper will take of (a) the number of children and young people in developing countries and (b) the relationships between the needs of children and young people in developing countries and (i) women, (ii) families, (iii) disabled people and (iv) others in those countries. (274681)

The Department for International Development (DFID) has recently commissioned analysis of the impacts of the current economic crisis including food, fuel and financial aspects on women, families, young people and the disabled in developing countries. This analysis will help inform the narrative in the forthcoming White Paper.

DFID recognises that children and young people are the majority population in many developing countries and that they have a vital role in helping achieve the millennium development goals. The White Paper will take these issues fully into account.