Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what humanitarian support her Department has provided to Afghanistan as a result of the drought in that country.

We are extremely concerned about the impact of the deadly drought last year in Afghanistan. The UK is providing life-saving assistance to hundreds of thousands of Afghans affected by one of the worst droughts the country has ever faced, including vital food and shelter. We provided emergency food aid in July last year to 432,000 people to enable them to remain in their homes. UK Aid has also supported tents and urgent relief items for up to 260,000 people who are facing a severe winter away from their homes; cash transfers for 190,000 people to buy essential items; and special nutritious food for 90,000 children and pregnant women to prevent malnutrition. And, by contributing to the UN appeal, UK funds are reaching more people in need with food assistance. As the scale of the drought became clear over the course of the year, we increased our funding for the drought response to £35 million, bringing DFID’s total spend on the humanitarian response in Afghanistan to £67 million in 2018. This support is helping some of Afghanistan’s most vulnerable people.