Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the food security situation in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Recent violent conflict in DRC and a protracted humanitarian crisis have led to record levels of displacement, food insecurity and suffering. In addition, climate shocks are impacting agriculture, livelihoods, and fishing, increasing food prices (which on average have increased by 11.6 per cent), poverty levels and resulting in a deterioration of basic infrastructure. In response to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in eastern DRC, the UN's System Wide Scale Up has been extended for another 3 months. The UK welcomes the scale up and urges for more resources and action from the DRC Government and other international partners. A 3-year £98 million UK funded humanitarian and resilience programme for crisis affected communities in eastern DRC where the food security needs are the highest has recently been improved. This will be implemented by a range of partners including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and SAFER (an INGO consortium), to address the immediate needs and build the resilience of conflict affected communities.