Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether his Department plans to take steps with (a) NGOs and (b) charities to tackle deficiencies in water (i) quality and (ii) access in South American countries due to El Niño.

The FCDO is a significant contributor to global humanitarian pooled funds which are activated to respond to a humanitarian crisis such as those caused by El Nino. This includes the UN Crisis Emergency Response Fund (CERF), Red Cross Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) and the NGO Start Fund. Since June 2023, the Start Fund has provided £750,000 across the region to support responses to water, health and food security impacts of drought, particularly in Venezuela, Guatemala and Colombia, with these responses targeting around 25,000 people.