WORLD SUMMIT FOR CHILDREN AND UK OVERSEAS AID BUDGET

That this House notes the signature of Her Majesty's Government in support of the aims of the 1990 UN World Summit for Children which include control of the major childhood diseases, a halving of child malnutrition, a halving of maternal mortality rates, safer water and sanitation for all, universally available family planning services, and a basic education for every child; further notes the 1993 State of the World's Children Report from UNICEF which states that 250,000 children still die as a result of malnutrition every week and that a significant part of the cost of meeting the goals of the Summit could be found within existing aid budgets if there were to be a shift in spending towards low cost services for the many such as food, water, sanitation, basic health care, primary education and family planning, away from high cost services for the few; and therefore urges Her Majesty's Government to take positive action in the light of the UNICEF report and reduce child mortality by at least doubling the current low proportion of its aid budget spent on human priorities.