Hansard

I add my congratulations to Karen Gillon on securing the debate. I have listened with great interest to the experiences that she and other colleagues have outlined, many of which they have shared with me in the past year or so.

I have been interested to hear the information supplied by members about the activities in their constituencies and about their particular interests in Malawi. I welcome the cross-party support that has been shown not just today but throughout the time of our collective work on Malawi. It is one of the strengths of the work we are doing.

I know from my visits to constituencies around Scotland that there is a genuine willingness throughout Scotland to become involved in the work with Malawi to improve health, education and long-term sustainable economic development.

As has been said on more than one occasion in the chamber, no one who visits Malawi comes back unaffected by the experience. The experience is not just of a country stricken by poverty and the devastating effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, but of a country with a truly warm-hearted people who have a deep appreciation of Scotland and our historical links. They are a people who are willing to work in partnership to improve their situation and eager to exchange new ideas.

In March 2005, the Scottish Executive published its international development policy, which outlined our aims and strategy for engaging with developing countries. Building on that, it became clear in discussions with ministers, officials and those involved on the ground in Malawi that the themes of education, health and civil society needed to be widened and that a stronger emphasis was required on governance and sustainable economic development in order that we could help to meet the specific circumstances faced by Malawi.

As a direct result, we saw the signing of a co-operation agreement between our two countries. It is not a sterile document; it has tangible aims and aspirations as to how we will work together. Ministers and officials have worked in partnership with Malawian counterparts and agreed a more detailed action plan that provides clear, focused direction on what will be delivered and who will be involved.

The aims are not simply what we think Malawi needs; they have been identified by the people of Malawi as their priorities and where they see Scotland having something to offer and being able to make an impact.

The action plan is not set in stone. It will be and is reviewed and revised regularly to ensure that it is still fit for purpose and developed to meet new and emerging needs. Again, that will be done in discussion and consultation with our colleagues in Malawi as well as with key stakeholders in Scotland.

The Executive's work in Malawi is supported by the international development fund. Initially, it was a commitment of £3 million per year for three years, but we were pleased to be able to announce last September that the fund had been increased by 50 per cent to £4.5 million per year for the remaining two years. I thank Murdo Fraser for his support, and I hope that, given his comments, that 50 per cent increase does not diminish it—I am sure that it does not.

Since the fund was set up in 2005, some 58 projects have been awarded more than £7.7 million, and a total of 35 projects based in Malawi have been awarded more than £5.25 million. As is often the case, it is not the amount that is spent but how it is spent that makes the difference. That is why all the support provided through the international development fund—whether through the main grant or through the small grant schemes—must fit strict criteria and must clearly meet the needs and aims that the people of Malawi have identified.

I do not want to talk too much about the "Frontline Scotland" programme other than to say, in response to the points that colleagues have made, that I, too, was particularly disappointed by the programme's tone and the coverage it gave the issue. None of our international aid budget is spent on administration—administration costs are met from the Executive's central budget—and the amount that we spend on administration does not equate to anything like a third of the budget that we have identified, as the programme claimed. The figure is closer to 7 per cent.

As Mark Ruskell correctly pointed out, of course some of the money that we put into assisting Malawi will be spent in this country, not least because many of the goods and other items that are needed to support Malawi are not available in that country and have to be sourced here.

The role of the Government is only part of the story. Our links with Malawi go deeper than those between our countries' Governments. As we have heard throughout the debate, schools, churches, church groups and other civic organisations are active and keen to work together. That is a highly encouraging sign that the time is right to renew and reaffirm our links with Malawi.

From Shetland to Dumfries and Galloway, individuals and groups are working in their own way to make a difference and to keep Malawi at the forefront of our minds. That is why we have adopted a sector-wide approach and why, in addition to working closely with the Department for International Development and the Malawian Government to offer practical advice and support, we are brokering partnerships between Scottish institutions and their Malawian counterparts.

For example, in health we have funded Scottish midwives to train 140 clinical nurses and doctors and 12 instructors. Karen Gillon correctly identified the work that the RCN is doing in partnership with the nurses organisation in Malawi. That, too, is an Executive-funded project. Through the University of Strathclyde's Malawi millennium project, the Executive supports the Chikwawa district hospital to provide equipment, to strengthen facilities and to offer environmental health training and basic child and maternal health training for village health assistants. We have supported Adam Smith College to prioritise ways in which Scottish colleges can work with Malawi to strengthen the role of vocational education and training in its education system. A project that is being run by the Scotland Malawi Partnership to facilitate the exchange of skills and knowledge at higher education level has also received our support.

On governance, we have been working with the respective ombudsman offices on a programme of collaboration, which includes the promotion of human rights, the provision of services for vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups, computerised casework management and website development, and a programme of staff information exchange.

Through education, we can help not only to improve literacy rates and the general level of education, but to influence directly the thinking of future generations on, and their approach to, dealing with health issues and the prevention of disease. We can provide a broader understanding of sustainable economic development and help to establish sustainable, thriving and healthier communities.

An example of such work is our provision of assistance to Mzuzu secondary school, which is running an environmental project based on fish farming that teaches children in the school how to make the best use of their local resources.