Lord Oates – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Oates on 2016-03-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how, and to what extent, they are working with other donor governments to address the current food shortages in Ethiopia.

Earl of Courtown

Britain is working closely with the Government of Ethiopia and the international community to ensure adequate funding for drought response activities. Britain’s overall funding for the drought to date is £113 million, making the UK the second largest donor.

In December, the Government of Ethiopia and the United Nations launched an appeal for 2016 to fundraise $1.4 billion (~£923 million) to respond to the drought in Ethiopia. By the beginning of March, 53% of the required funds have been raised.

DFID is an active participant in donor coordination fora in Ethiopia, including Ethiopia’s Development Assistance Group, and works closely with other donor governments to monitor the response and to lobby for support from the Government of Ethiopia and UN appeal.

DFID Ministers have discussed the drought at the highest levels with the Government of Ethiopia. We have been working closely with the Ethiopian Government to support their leadership of the humanitarian response. To date, the Government of Ethiopia has allocated $381 million (~£269 million) to address the crisis.