Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that the understandable diversion of resources and attention towards managing the ongoing crisis in Ukraine does not detract from the UK’s efforts to support the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

Our commitment to Afghanistan is enduring and work on priority areas, including responding to the humanitarian crisis remains one of our highest priorities. Of the £286 million committed in this financial year, £265 million has now been disbursed to partners to deliver lifesaving services to more than 6 million people, and all funds will have been transferred by 31 March 2022. We have been at the forefront of efforts to repurpose existing funds to support the Afghan people. In January, we successfully worked with the Asian Development Bank to make $405 million available. On 1 March the World Bank Board agreed to make over $1 billion in the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund available for health, education, livelihoods and food security. The UK has agreed to co-host the Afghanistan Pledging Conference with the UN, to take place at the end of March, to help raise $4.4 billion for 2022. This is the largest humanitarian appeal on record, reflecting the magnitude of the humanitarian challenge ahead.