Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect on the (1) level of debt of, and (2) potential loss of life in, developing countries of global food shortages and increasing food prices, as a result of the war in Ukraine.

Before Russia's invasion, almost 1 billion people in 92 countries did not have enough food to eat and 55 countries, mostly in Africa and Asia, were already in acute hunger crises, emergency or famine conditions. This has now risen to at least 1.7 billion with 49 million people already living a step away from famine (up from 25 million in 2020), and almost 860,000 people estimated to be in famine-like conditions.

Steep increases in the price of staple commodities and agriculture inputs were already apparent before the war. Russia's aggression has further exacerbated these spikes - according to the World Food Programme the price of a food basket in Ethiopia has risen 66 percent, and in Somalia 36 percent. Higher import costs of fuel and food are exacerbating the fragile debt status of many countries particularly in Africa.