Sudan

Lord Oates Excerpts

Thursday 17th July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

The noble Lord is right, and we are deeply concerned about that. I also commend the Duchess of Edinburgh for the work she has done; she has visited the border too and heard for herself the traumatic accounts that he alluded to in his question. My noble friend Lord Collins works through the UN on the issues that he is talking about, and we are working with our multilateral partners to provide the support that he is right to remind us will be needed for a long time for the women he has referred to.

[Lord Oates (LD)]

My Lords, I declare my interest as chief executive of United Against Malnutrition and Hunger. We heard last night from diaspora representatives from Sudan about the devastating impact that malnutrition is having particularly on people suffering from diseases that would normally be minor, but who are dying of them because of malnourishment. What assessment have the Government made of using different and smaller agencies to ensure access on the ground, and are they prepared to take greater risks to reach people?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

Yes, in short. We need to use a variety of agencies in order to reach people. The noble Lord is also right in what he says about nutrition: we see people who are badly malnourished, and that has other impacts. Cholera is now present, for example. Even the work that we do on the border in refugee camps is hampered by the condition that people find themselves in. Vaccinations become difficult because they are less effective when a child is malnourished. I fear that the impact of this is going to be very long lasting.