Lord Benyon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL2418):
Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool:
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report by Clingendael, From Catastrophe to Famine: Immediate action needed in Sudan to contain mass starvation, published on 8 February, which warned that “Sudan’s trajectory towards a catastrophe is certain; the risk of famine is very high”, and that “According to the most likely scenario, seven million people will face catastrophic levels of hunger by June 2024”; and what steps they are taking to coordinate an international response. (HL2418)
Tabled on: 13 February 2024
Answer:
Lord Benyon:
17.7 million people in Sudan (37 percent of the population) are now thought to be experiencing acute food insecurity. This is likely to worsen in the coming months. As much as 70 percent of the population could be experiencing acute food insecurity by June. Some experts are warning of the risk of famine. We are providing £38 million in humanitarian aid to support people in Sudan this financial year (2023-2024). The UK is pushing for a concerted international community response. We also continue to put pressure on the parties to end the fighting and to abide by their commitments under International Humanitarian Law and to allow lifesaving humanitarian aid to reach the Sudanese people.
Date and time of answer: 29 Feb 2024 at 15:12.
