Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will increase Government funding for emergency food aid to Ethiopia.

Mr Nick Hurd

We are very concerned about the impact of the current drought on the food security situation for 18 million people across Ethiopia. Britain is working closely with the Government of Ethiopia and the international community to ensure adequate funding for drought response activities.

We acted quickly and decisively at the onset of the drought by providing emergency food aid for 2.1 million people in 2015. This year, we have committed £40 million to provide food aid to a further 3.8 million people in April.

In collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund, DFID is also ensuring that 120,000 severely malnourished children receive treatment in order to recover quickly.

Our overall funding for the drought to date is £113 million. We are continuing to work with the Government of Ethiopia and other donors to make sure needs are being met. We are monitoring the situation closely.

UK Aid resilience work with the Government of Ethiopia has helped prepare 10 million people to cope with this drought.