Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the capacity of (a) the UN and (b) other humanitarian agencies to provide emergency assistance by airlift to (i) internally displaced people and (ii) besieged areas in Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso is facing the worst security and humanitarian crisis in its history. Almost 2 million people are displaced and around 2,000 people in enclaves in northern Burkina Faso are at risk of starvation. These isolated areas are unable to receive regular humanitarian supplies as the roads used to transport goods are no longer safe due to attacks by violent extremist organisations. The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) are planning airlifts to deliver urgent supplies for three months to enclaved areas beginning in January. Last year, the UK provided approximately £79 million in total to Burkina Faso to deliver aid, shelter, healthcare and education to those most in need, including £0.2 million to UNHAS.