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Written question asked by Matthew Pennycook (Labour) on Thursday, 13 April 2017, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 19 April 2017. It was answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm (Conservative) on Monday, 24 April 2017 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Horn of Africa: Food

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps the Government has taken to persuade her international counterparts to (a) increase financial support and (b) assist in negotiating safe access for aid to increase the level of food available to the populations of Somalia and Somaliland.

Answer

The UK is leading international efforts to prevent a famine. Our early action is paying dividends and the international response is scaling up. Donors have allocated more in the first three months of 2017 than was raised in the whole of 2016 for the humanitarian response in Somalia (including Somaliland). This has enabled humanitarian partners to reach 1.75 million people with food and 1.15 million people with safe water in March alone.

The UK continues to press for full and sustained access to hard to reach areas across Somalia. We are pushing the Federal Government of Somalia to fulfil its commitment to tackle all obstacles to humanitarian access. We are also supporting partners, like the International Committee of the Red Cross, who have the capability to open humanitarian access in hard to reach areas.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
70562
Session
2016-17
Subjects
Access International assistance Food Somalia Somaliland
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk