Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what material support and assistance her Department is providing to support countries in the Horn of Africa suffering from famine; and if she will make a statement.

Ongoing humanitarian and development support is vital in order to avert famine in the most vulnerable areas. DFID spent £293 million on humanitarian assistance in the region over the last financial year, providing support to vulnerable people affected by food insecurity and conflict crises. We also use our development funding to support programmes that build resilience to climate change and strengthen early warning systems: for instance DFID has supported the strengthening of Ethiopia’s hydro-meteorological network enabling more accurate measurement and prediction of extreme weather and flooding.