Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of humanitarian aid distribution in (a) Sudan and (b) South Sudan; and what steps he is taking to help improve distribution.

Sudan is in the grip of the most severe humanitarian crisis globally with 30 million people requiring life-saving aid. The ongoing obfuscation of relief operations by Sudan's warring parties alongside continued fighting are imperilling tens of millions of people. During last month's London Sudan Conference, chaired by the Foreign Secretary, attendees agreed to use their influence with the parties, and urged them to lift all impediments, and guarantee safe, rapid, and unimpeded access throughout Sudan for humanitarian supplies and personnel.  At the conference the Foreign Secretary announced a further £120 million in UK funding.

South Sudan faces a parallel humanitarian crisis compounded by climate and conflict shocks and exacerbated by the over 1.1 million people fleeing Sudan since the onset of conflict in April 2023, including returnees and refugees. In August 2024, the former Minister for Development visited South Sudan and emphasised to senior South Sudanese ministers the need for effective humanitarian aid delivery. We continue to support the UN Mission in South Sudan, and non governmental organisation partners in their delivery of aid, and urge the government to improve the enabling of humanitarian assistance by reducing bureaucratic impediments, preventing aid diversion, ending unwarranted interference in recruitment, and ensuring safe and free movement of aid workers.