Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that humanitarian charities such as Save the Children and Médecins Sans Frontières are able to give assistance to people in Eastern Sudan, following their expulsion by the government of Sudan in June 2012.

The UK continues to fund international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) and UN agencies to deliver programmes which target the most vulnerable Sudanese citizens, and ensure that those in need of humanitarian assistance are not left unsupported as a result of expulsion decisions. We meet regularly with the Sudan INGO Steering Committee to discuss issues including humanitarian access, and support them in advocating for access when requested to do so. In addition, DFID is funding £30m of programmes over 3 years in Eastern Sudan to help improve vulnerable communities’ food security and nutrition, provide sustainable water supplies and improve sanitation. DFID also provides core funding to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) which supports host and refugee communities across Sudan to improve livelihoods.