Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support humanitarian programmes in central Africa.

The UK supports a range of humanitarian activities across central Africa, including emergency food assistance, treatment for malnourished children and life-saving sexual and reproductive health services. We are concerned by the escalation of humanitarian needs in central Africa, spurred on by the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The UK allocated over £80 million for humanitarian programmes in DRC last financial year (2024-25), including cash and food aid, access to clean water and support to halt the spread of mpox through our health emergencies programme. We are working in partnership with UNHCR to provide vital assistance to refugees in the region, and we aim to assist 3.5 million people with our humanitarian support in DRC this year. The UK remains in regular contact with DRC, Rwanda and other partners to support a peaceful resolution to the conflict in eastern DRC.