Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) bilateral and (2) multilateral plans they have to avert a humanitarian crisis in the Lake Chad region; and what assessment they have made of (1) the short-term, and (2) the long-term impacts of (i) water shortages, (ii) scarcity of arable land, and (iii) conflict and terrorism, on migration in the Lake Chad region.

The UK Government is deeply concerned by the conflict in North East Nigeria and the wider Lake Chad Basin, which continues to drive instability, acute food insecurity and malnutrition in the region. We support governments and organisations across the region to address these issues. The UK Government is a leading humanitarian donor and supports the United Nations and non-governmental organisations to provide assistance to people with humanitarian needs. We continue to raise concerns over the humanitarian situation in multilateral fora, most recently by me on 11 March in a food security event at the United Nations.

Conflict also remains the primary driver of displacement and irregular migration across the region, compounded by the effects of climate change, disease outbreaks and the impact of coronavirus. To address these combined challenges, the UK Government provides development and stabilisation assistance to improve civilians' access to healthcare and improve livelihoods. We will also continue to work with countries of the Lake Chad Basin to address climate change. These countries are invited to attend COP26 later this year.