Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage other donors to provide aid to Sudan.

The UK is doing all it can to raise the profile of the crisis in Sudan and to encourage other donors to commit funding. In April, at the Sudan London Conference, the Foreign Secretary announced £120 million of new life-saving aid which we anticipate will reach over 650,000 people. Whilst the Conference was not a pledging event we were nonetheless encouraged that other states followed suit with the more than £800 million pledged towards lifesaving operations. Further, we are also working on possible joint funding initiatives with other donors. Whilst funding is important, without a fundamental improvement in access for humanitarian agencies, the required levels of aid cannot be delivered and civilians will continue to bear the brunt of the conflict.