Written question asked by Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party) on Tuesday, 13 April 2021, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 15 April 2021. It was answered by James Duddridge (Conservative) on Wednesday, 21 April 2021 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Development Aid

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has conducted a risk assessment on the potential effect of reductions in Official Development Assistance spending in Sub-Saharan Africa on levels of armed violence by extremist groups in that region.

Answer: As announced last year, the impact of the global pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take the tough but necessary decision to temporarily reduce how much we spend on Official Development Assistance (ODA). The Foreign Secretary has set out seven core priorities for the UK's aid budget, including resolving conflict. We are now working through the implications of these changes for individual country programmes. No decisions have yet been made on specific individual budget allocations.

Secondary information