Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the reduction of the foreign aid target on the UK's ability to help address (a) the risk of famine in Tigray and (b) the millions of people severely food insecure due to drought in Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia, the population in need of humanitarian food and nutrition assistance has reached record levels in 2022, driven by ongoing insecurity and climate shocks that are likely to result in continued high needs into 2023. The UN estimates that over 20 million people are food insecure in Ethiopia, of which 13 million people require food assistance as a result of the conflict in the north.

In the last eighteen months the UK has provided almost £90 million of humanitarian support to people affected by crises throughout Ethiopia. Our support has reached civilians in Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Somali and Oromia and also eastern Sudan. This includes critical food aid, safe drinking water, medical care, sanitation and nutritional supplies.