Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make it her policy to increase the Government's donor contributions to the Lake Chad region to match or exceed those made by other governments at the Oslo donor conference.

The UK was one of the first donors to respond to the crisis in the Lake Chad Region. Last year we delivered food assistance to more than 1 million people, and treated 34,000 children at risk of death from severe under-nourishment in North East Nigeria. We have used our funding to encourage others to contribute and are pleased that at the Oslo Donor Conference a number of other countries stepped up their support. The UK is currently examining what further support we can provide in leading the way to help prevent famine in the region.