Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Humanitarian Bulletin: Ethiopia, published by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on 3 January 2022, what steps she is taking to ensure that adequate (a) nutritional, (b) water, sanitation and hygiene, and (c) education support reaches affected populations in the (i) Somalia, (ii) Southern Oromia and (iii) Eastern Oromia Regions of Ethiopia.

The UK shares the concerns outlined by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in their report on 3 January. We concur with OCHA's analysis that 6.4 million people in Oromia and Somali regions require food assistance due to drought conditions. Humanitarian agencies report alarming nutrition indicators among young children which in some locations in Somali region exceed internationally agreed emergency thresholds. In the financial year 2021/2022 the UK has provided almost £59 million to humanitarian agencies working throughout Ethiopia including Oromia and Somali regions.