Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the effects of the food crisis in Ethiopia on people in that country.

Ethiopia is in the midst of its worst drought for 30 years, with 18.2 million people, approximately 20% of the population, in need of humanitarian assistance at the peak of the crisis. There has been a strong effort by the Government of Ethiopia and humanitarian partners to help save lives and safeguard livelihoods through provision of food, water and other essential supplies.

The UK Government has responded quickly and decisively since the onset of the drought in July 2015. So far, the UK Government has committed £145 million overall, making us the second largest donor to the response. This has included a commitment of £40 million to provide food aid to 3.8 million people in 2016 alone.

As Ethiopia moves into the traditional hungry period of July-September, the Government of Ethiopia and United Nations will revise their funding appeal, which is currently over a billion pounds and 70 % funded. The UK Government will continue to provide support and leadership to the humanitarian response in the coming months.