Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of Oxfam and Save The Children's report entitled Dangerous Delays 2: The Cost of Inaction, published on 18 May 2022.

The joint Oxfam and Save the Children report highlights the gravity of the humanitarian situation in East Africa. Following an unprecedented fourth consecutive season of failed rains, more than 15 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are experiencing extremely worrying levels of food insecurity. Due to the drought millions of people are also facing critical shortages of water with rates of displacement, school drop-outs and early marriage of young girls also on the rise. The drought has also led to the emergence of famine conditions in Somalia, while conflict continues to cause major levels of suffering throughout East Africa, driving famine conditions in Tigray in northern Ethiopia for example.

In 2022 the UK has so far provided more than £72 million to the humanitarian crises in the region. In January, to enable humanitarian agencies to take early action and to support a scale-up of drought response activities, the UK allocated £14 million to Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, with £3 million for flooding in South Sudan. Most recently on 26 April, I announced a further £25 million in aid to provide vital services to almost a million people in Somalia affected by the drought. The UK continues to play a leading role to galvanise interest and financial assistance for the drought from other donors. Our efforts helped to mobilise $400 million for the region at a recent UN event. Our response to the drought builds on long-established resilience building programmes in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia which have benefitted tens of millions of people.