Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of humanitarian conditions in eastern Sudan.

The lack of development in the east of Sudan has driven chronic humanitarian needs which continue to be of concern. According to the latest Ministry of Health national nutrition survey, the east of Sudan has some of the highest rates of malnutrition in the country, in many places exceeding emergency thresholds. High rates of malnutrition are of even greater concern as they increase the vulnerability of children to disease and the likelihood of fatality. The east of Sudan has been particularly affected by the ongoing measles outbreak.

There is also a long term refugee population of some 92,000 people who continue to require the services of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to ensure that they receive protection and their humanitarian needs are met.