Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle food security and malnutrition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Tackling severe food insecurity and malnutrition is one of the UK's top priorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Since 2017, UK aid has provided 1.97 million people with food aid, cash and vouchers to reduce food insecurity and treated over 300,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition.

The UK is also leading a global call to action on the risk of famine and appointed Nick Dyer as the UK's Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs. DRC is a priority country for food insecurity and the UK's Call to Action. During my visit to DRC in November 2020 and a subsequent call with President Tshisekedi in March 2021, I discussed with the Government the need to address insecurity and conflict in the East, one of the key drivers of the humanitarian crisis.