Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the G20 on the funding and distribution of emergency cash transfers to tackle increasing rates of malnutrition.

Prevention and treatment of malnutrition remains a priority for the UK as part of our commitment to end the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children, particularly as countries face worsening levels of malnutrition in the face of COVID-19. The Foreign Secretary recently reiterated our commitment to alleviate extreme hunger and malnutrition through a £119 million package of support to avert famine and reduce the negative impact of COVID-19 on food security.

In April the UK worked closely with other G20 members to agree a statement of the G20 Agriculture Ministers committing to close cooperation and action to safeguard global food security and nutrition. This included the commitment to work together to help ensure that sufficient, safe, affordable, and nutritious food continues to be available and accessible to all people.

The UK is a strong supporter of multipurpose cash transfers to meet the emergency needs of populations affected by crisis. We have scaled up our use of cash in response to COVID-19, in particular supporting national social protection programmes to provide emergency cash. Cash transfers are a flexible, efficient, secure and empowering way of helping affected communities meet their needs, including those relating to nutrition.