Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UN's prediction of extreme hunger in Sudan in the remaining months of 2022, what assessment she has made of the need to provide aid to that country.

We are concerned at the food insecurity situation in Sudan as highlighted by the 21 March Food and Agriculture Organization report. The World Food Programme (WFP) has subsequently estimated that up to 20 million people will face "emergency" or "crisis" levels of acute food insecurity in 2022. The UK continues to provide humanitarian support to those most in need in Sudan. In 2021, we contributed £27 million to humanitarian assistance, via partners including the WFP, the UN-led Sudan Humanitarian Fund, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other non-governmental organisations. This 2021 funding provided approximately 1.2 million people with lifesaving assistance (such as food, cash and voucher support, safe drinking water, shelter and sanitation), including providing over 500,000 vulnerable children with free school meals.

The overwhelming driver of current food insecurity in Sudan is the political and economic crisis. Since the military coup in October 2021, we have encouraged all Sudanese political actors to engage in the talks facilitated by the UN, African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development to resolve the political crisis. Most recently, our Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea delivered this message directly to Sudan's military leadership on 28 April in Khartoum.