Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reported deliberate denial of (1) food, and (2) medicines, to the people of Tigray; and what steps they are taking to ensure that those responsible are prosecuted.

On her visit to Ethiopia in January 2022, Vicky Ford MP (FCDO Minister for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean) met the Ethiopian Minister for Health who committed to increasing the number of humanitarian flights reaching Tigray. Since that meeting, there has been marked increase in humanitarian flights principally carrying medical aid. Almost 20 metric tons of aid reached Mekelle by air during the period 7 - 11 March, for example. In February over a ten day period the International Committee of the Red Cross flew ten cargo flights into Mekelle carrying medical supplies. We welcome efforts to improve air access but highlight that this method of transport is prohibitively expensive and is not able to meet the level of needs in Tigray. We call on all parties to the conflict to urgently facilitate overland aid delivery.