Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) assessment he has made of and (b) support is he is providing to tackle the risk of famine in (i) parts of Northern Nigeria (ii) Burkina Faso and (iii) South Sudan.

The UK Government is concerned about the growing levels of food insecurity in South Sudan, Burkina Faso and Northern Nigeria. Across six counties in South Sudan there are an estimated 105,000 people in famine-like conditions, and in western Pibor the UN assesses a famine is likely occurring. Across South Sudan as a whole, around 60% of the country is facing acute food insecurity. In Burkina Faso, there is a risk of famine, with over 250,000 people currently in an emergency phase of acute food insecurity. In North-East Nigeria, 1.2 million people are currently experiencing acute food insecurity.

In September, the Foreign Secretary launched a global call to action to tackle the increasing threat of famine. This is a top FCDO priority. Since then, both I (Minister Duddridge) and the UK's Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs, Nick Dyer, have seen first-hand the challenges facing famine affected communities. We jointly visited South Sudan in October 2020, and Special Envoy Nick Dyer also visited North-East Nigeria in November. Since the call to action, we have pledged a total of £166 million to tackle food insecurity and the threat of famine, including the recent announcement for £47 million in December.