Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions her Department has had with non-governmental agencies in South Sudan on levels of food provision.

The UK is extremely concerned about the deteriorating food security in South Sudan, and the urgent need to increase the provision of food supplies and livelihoods support to vulnerable populations. The eruption of conflict on 15 December 2013 has sharply exacerbated an already fragile food security situation: 3.2 million people are now at immediate risk of food insecurity and up to 7.2 million are estimated to be at some risk.

DFID South Sudan is in regular contact with critical non-government agencies operating in the country, both UN agencies such as the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), as well as with key non-government organisations, to understand and inform the humanitarian response and to monitor needs and the quality of the humanitarian operation. DFID South Sudan staff have visited displaced communities in Unity and Jonglei States in recent weeks to meet affected people, and international agencies delivering assistance, in order to better understand food security needs.