Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of humanitarian conditions in eastern Sudan.

The UK remains extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in eastern Sudan. The needs assessment carried out to inform the 2014 UN response showed that health and nutrition indicators were above emergency thresholds in many locations and access to services was extremely poor. A UK funded UNICEF national nutrition survey revealed large numbers of children were suffering from acute malnutrition especially in Kassala and Red Sea State. These findings have been incorporated into the recently revised Humanitarian Strategic Response Plan for 2014 which is used for determining where donor resources are allocated.

The UN’s Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) plays an important role in funding the humanitarian response in Sudan using the Strategic Response Plan as a guide. In 2014 the UK contributed £17m to the CHF. We are also investing in longer term programmes to build the resilience of communities and improve access to water and sanitation in eastern Sudan.