Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what diplomatic steps her Department is taking to assist Ethiopia with famine relief and support in dealing with drought.

James Wharton

Ethiopia is coming out of its worst drought for 30 years. At the peak of the crisis, over 18 million people (approximately 20% of the population) were in need of food assistance.

The UK responded quickly and decisively to the humanitarian crisis and was the second largest bilateral donor. We have provided emergency support for 3.8 million people to date. Through the Government of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Nets Programme (PSNP), which boosts household food security for extremely poor and vulnerable people over five years, UK funds are supporting 1.7 million people in 2016.

At the highest level, DFID and the FCO in Addis have undertaken diplomatic engagement and provided technical advice around the issue of chronic food insecurity with the Government of Ethiopia. My predecessor, Nick Hurd, met with Government of Ethiopia officials and committed to work together with the United Nations and others to assist them to cope with this crisis.