Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment he has made of the food security situation in East Africa; and if he will make a statement.

DFID is concerned by the severe food insecurity in East Africa and has taken early action through its substantial portfolio of humanitarian support and longer-term responses to tackling chronic hunger. According to Save the Children nearly 13 million people across the Horn of Africa, of whom 50% are children, now face critical levels of hunger owing to insufficient levels of rain in 2019 and earlier years. Prevailing dry conditions across the region have led to the deterioration of farmland and pastures, loss of livestock, sharply increased food prices, and reduction of the availability of water.

In Ethiopia, DFID supports the Government of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme that reaches 8 million chronically food insecure people in drought affected regions. The UK remains at the forefront of the humanitarian response in Somalia, delivering emergency aid to over 1 million people and supporting up to 1.5 million people through long-term resilience projects. In Kenya, DFID supports the Government of Kenya’s Hunger Safety Net Programme, which also provides cash transfers to some of the poorest households.

Our work on humanitarian early warning systems raises awareness of crises where food security is deteriorating. We also prioritise longer-term responses to support food security, including through our agricultural programmes and the UK’s global leadership on tackling climate change and its impacts.