Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the level of access to humanitarian aid for civilians in (a) the Tigray and (b) neighbouring regions of Ethiopia.

The Foreign Secretary raised the need for untrammelled humanitarian access to Tigray with President Abiy during his recent visit to Ethiopia. We judge that there are still restrictions to access to around 85% of the Tigray region. In this context we welcome the recent visits to Ethiopia by senior UN officials and hope that they will deliver a sustained step-change in humanitarian access.

We remain concerned about the impact of the continued fighting in Tigray on the humanitarian situation in Ethiopia and beyond. The UK is working closely with humanitarian organisations to make sure aid reaches civilians affected by the fighting. UK-funded aid agencies in Tigray are working hard to deliver support in challenging circumstances, including shelter, water and healthcare. The Foreign Secretary announced £11.4m of humanitarian funding to support those affected by the conflict during his visit to Ethiopia where he saw first-hand how UK Aid is supporting the World Food Programme and NGOs to ensure the delivery of aid to those affected by the conflict.