Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the role of UK support in strengthening the (a) resilience and (b) long-term sustainability of independent media organisations across Africa.

We remain steadfast in our commitment to media freedom in Africa and around the world, and recognise the vital role that journalists play in upholding human rights, supporting accountable governance, and protecting democracy. We have already taken significant steps to protect and promote media freedom globally, including increasing our funding for the BBC World Service by an additional £33 million over the next three years, taking our annual contribution to £148 million. We will continue to work with African partners to support and protect independent media and media freedom in their countries, with funding decisions kept under regular review.