Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the humanitarian situation in northern Ethiopia, including the Tigray region; what estimate she has made of the number of internally displaced persons and other vulnerable populations currently experiencing acute food insecurity; what steps her Department is taking to provide emergency food, nutrition, and medical assistance; and what steps she is taking to coordinate UK support with the World Food Programme, other UN agencies, and international partners to alleviate hunger in the region.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The ongoing conflict in Amhara has led to significant humanitarian needs, and widespread conflict-related human rights violations and abuses. In Tigray, there are an estimated 500,000 to 700,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs).
UK Official Development Assistance to Ethiopia in 2025/26 is £172.7 million, of which £95.5 million has been used to provide lifesaving humanitarian aid, focused on emergency health, nutrition, and social protection implemented by a combination of UN agencies, non-governmental organisations, and the Red Cross.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the level of humanitarian need in Ethiopia.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Official needs figures for Ethiopia have not yet been finalised for this year, but the level of humanitarian need remains high. Last year an estimated 21 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance. We continue to work closely with the Government of Ethiopia and other partners to support those most in need of humanitarian assistance.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Development in response to the Rt hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills during the Oral Statement of 28 November 2024 on UK Leadership on Sudan, Official Report, column 945, with which countries in the African Union he has had bilateral engagements on the situation in Sudan; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of those engagements in securing access to humanitarian aid within Sudan.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
I have raised the issue of humanitarian access with key regional actors, including during my visit to South Sudan and Ethiopia in August, as well as in bilateral engagements with Egypt at the Humanitarian Forum in Cairo in December. The Foreign Secretary also engaged with the African Union and African Security Council members during his visit to New York in November, including at a roundtable he hosted where he urged states to use their influence with the warring parties to push for improved humanitarian access in Sudan. In December, Lord Collins also spoke to the Ugandan Foreign Minister on Sudan to seek views on how we can work more closely to support region-led mediation efforts, particularly with the African Union. He also hosted an open briefing at the UN Security Council (UNSC), during the UK's presidency in November, with a focus on the protection of civilians' recommendations. The UK also co-led a Resolution at the UNSC with Sierra Leone on the protection of civilians, which failed to pass due to a Russian veto. We welcome the recent diplomatic efforts including by the Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan (ALPS) members such as Egypt to pressure the Sudanese authorities to keep the Adré border open. We will continue to use our engagements with African partners to push for Adré to remain open permanently, for alternative cross-border routes beyond Adré, and for greater crossline access.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the humanitarian situation in Tigray since the end of the mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia; and how they are monitoring the situation now that no other international or regional mechanisms are reporting on it.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The humanitarian indicators in Tigray remain worrying, with 3.8 million of the region's estimated population of 6 million needing humanitarian assistance this year. This is why the UK has increased funding for Ethiopia this financial year (2024/25) and adapted our programming to mitigate the most severe humanitarian outcomes, with an increased focus on lifesaving nutrition, health and water and sanitation programming for the most vulnerable populations, including in Tigray. We continue to engage with established systems for monitoring humanitarian need and response plans led by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). We are also investing in improving data and evidence to enable the humanitarian community to make informed decisions on the humanitarian response.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent assessment he has made of the food security situation in East Africa; and what steps his Department is taking to alleviate the problems.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Food insecurity remains a huge challenge across East Africa. Tens of millions of people throughout the region face 'crisis' levels of food insecurity. The UK is leading efforts to address the crisis. The UK will deliver £89 million of aid to Sudan in 2024/2025, up from nearly £50 million in 2023/2024. On 16 April at a UK convened humanitarian pledging event I [Deputy Foreign Secretary] committed £100 million in aid to Ethiopia which will reach hundreds of thousands of people. Since 2019 the UK has allocated over £1 billion in humanitarian funding to East Africa benefitting millions of people.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on the humanitarian situation in the Gambella region of Ethiopia following the migration of people from South Sudan to the area.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Ethiopia hosts nearly 1 million refugees of whom 43%, roughly 420,000 people, originate from South Sudan. The vast majority of South Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia reside in seven camps in Gambella region. Refugees experience pressing humanitarian hardships in Gambella due to a combination of factors including recurrent flooding exacerbated by a shortage of donor funding. Between 2022 and 2023 aid agencies recorded a near doubling of cases of severe acute malnutrition among children under five years at Kule refugee camp. The UK is lobbying humanitarian agencies to ensure aid is prioritised effectively and reaches the most vulnerable.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) implications for his policies of the (i) humanitarian and (ii) civilian protection situation in the Amhara region of Ethiopia and (b) adequacy of the accountability for alleged violations against civilians in that region since August 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We follow the conflict in Amhara and its implications for civilians closely and we have offered assistance to the Government of Ethiopia to find a peaceful solution. The UK has increased support to the Ethiopia Human Rights Commission who monitor the situation and who will be key in implementing the recently announced Transitional Justice Policy for Ethiopia. This aims to provide a mechanism for accountability for crimes committed in Amhara as well as other regions affected by conflict. We continue to speak out on specific incidents such as suspected extra-judicial killings in Merawit and consistently call for the protection of civilians in Amhara and Oromia, most recently at the UN Human Rights Council, and with Government of Ethiopia interlocutors. His Majesty's Ambassador met with the Amhara regional President in January and discussed a number of issues, including the ongoing conflict and prospects for dialogue.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the potential for famine in Ethiopia.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Food shortages in Ethiopia are at a critical level. Conflict and climate change have damaged crop production and driven people off their lands, leading over 3 million people into a state of critical food insecurity. In February 2024, I visited Ethiopia and witnessed the worsening humanitarian situation in the region. In response, I announced £100 million in new aid for our Ending Preventable Deaths Programme, which will support over three million people in affected regions.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the food security situation in Ethiopia as of 16 February 2024; and what steps his Department is taking to help support those most in need.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Multiple, overlapping crises are causing concerning levels of critical food insecurity across Ethiopia. The UK is committed to providing support to the most vulnerable and those in desperate need. We have already increased our humanitarian support this financial year by over 50 percent, from £46 million to £74 million in order to better respond to the immediate crisis, including a £23 million contribution to the Productive Safety Net Programme that will reach a further 350,000 people living in extreme poverty across Ethiopia. Additionally, I recently announced £100 million to the Ending Preventable Deaths Programme that will support over three million people across the country.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 9 February (HL1953), whether they will now answer the question put; namely, what assessment they have made of reports by the Mekelle branch of the Ethiopian Ombudsman Institution on 24 January that in five camps of internally displaced people in Tigray, 900 had died due to starvation.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
A press release relating to the Ombudsman's report was issued on 30 January. It did not state what evidence the Ombudsman team were basing their observations on or what methodology they had used to determine cause of death. We use all available data sources to assess the severity of food insecurity across northern Ethiopia. In his recent visit to Ethiopia in February 2024, Minister Andrew Mitchell saw firsthand the worsening humanitarian situation in Tigray and announced an additional £100 million to end preventable deaths, targeting three million people across Ethiopia including those who are most at risk in the northern regions.