Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the news story on gov.uk, PM pledges new support for countries on the food security frontline, published on 24 June 2022, which World Food Programme emergency response efforts will be funded from the £130 million commitment; how much funding each World Food Programme emergency will receive; and over what timescale that funding will be transferred.

The UK is a major humanitarian donor, and we are continuing the commitment set out in the Strategy for International Development to spend approximately £1 billion per year on life-saving humanitarian assistance.

The majority of the £130 million funding for the World Food Programme (WFP) directly supports their vital efforts to provide emergency food aid in some of the most food insecure countries in the world, in particular Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan, as well as Sudan and Nigeria amongst others. These include Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Madagascar, Niger, Chad, Mali, Mozambique, Uganda and Lebanon. This funding is being disbursed in the course of 2022.

A proportion of the £130 million will be provided as unearmarked funding, not allocated to a specific region or crisis, giving WFP the maximum financial flexibility to direct funds where they are most needed and enhance their capacity to take early action to avert the risk of famine.