Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they and international partners are providing to the government of Kenya to deal with (1) locusts, (2) malaria, (3) food shortages, and (4) COVID-19, particularly in the Nairobi and Mombasa regions.

The UK is supporting the Government of Kenya’s response to locusts through a £7 million contribution to the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation’s regional locust appeal, and core funding to the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund, which has committed £7.5 million. This will help support efforts to control and manage the outbreak.

UK support to malaria is provided through the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria (GFATM), to which the UK contributes approximately 10 per cent of the overall budget. To date, GFATM has disbursed approximately £311 million for malaria in Kenya, the majority of which has been used to procure key commodities for treatment, testing and bed nets.

On food shortages, since 2007, the UK has committed £255 million to establish and support the government’s Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP) in four arid counties. HSNP provides regular cash transfers to over 100,000 households, with capacity to reach an additional 275,000 households during drought periods. The transfers are largely used to meet beneficiaries’ food needs. In addition, the World Food Programme is supporting GoK to assist up to 390,000 vulnerable and food insecure people, including through cash transfers and in-kind food assistance.