Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the announcement by the Minister for Development on UK support for people facing famine in the Horn of Africa on 21 September 2022, to which programmes in Somalia funding has been committed; over what time period funding will be provided; and how much of funding has been disbursed as of 22 September.

Almost half of Somalia's population is in need of help with 300,000 people forecast to be in famine by October if assistance is not provided immediately. On 21 September at the UN General Assembly, the UK Minister for Development, Vicky Ford MP, announced £22.8 million package assistance for Somalia to alleviate the impact of drought and address the risk of famine. This brings the UK's total support to Somalia since 1 April 2022 to £52.8 million covering humanitarian, protection, health and nutrition support. Minister Ford also called on the international community to act now to avert disaster, as the humanitarian context is now more concerning than the 2011 drought, when a quarter of a million people lost their lives.

The £22.8 million package of assistance is being programmed through three FCDO programmes: i) Somalia Humanitarian and Resilience Programme (2018-2022); ii) Better Lives for Somali Women and Children (2022-2028); and iii) Humanitarian Assistance and Resilience Building in Somalia (2022/23). The funding is for this financial year only. Details on programme spend is published online on UKaid Development Tracker (https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/)