· UK today pledges vital
life-saving assistance to East Africa to support vulnerable
communities
· New funding will support
people facing the drastic impacts of drought, conflict, food
insecurity and climate change in countries across East Africa
including Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya
· UK support will also
provide humanitarian assistance to Sudan, to help address
people’s urgent needs, one month after conflict broke out in the
country
The Minister for Development and Africa will announce humanitarian
aid to East Africa at the UN Horn of Africa pledging conference
today [Wednesday 24 May].
This vital assistance will enable the UN and NGO partners to
continue the delivery of cash support; the delivery of water and
sanitation services; and the supply of specialised health and
nutrition treatment.
As vulnerable countries are impacted by more frequent and more
severe weather events, the UK is supporting them to adapt and
build resilience for the long term.
Funding will boost the climate resilience of communities and
provide support for those displaced due to drought and extreme
weather.
The conference is co-hosted by the UK, Qatar, the US and the UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In a
video statement to the UN, Minister will pledge £143 million
for East Africa, £96m of which is going to the drought-impacted
countries of the Horn.
The Minister will call for long-term solutions to break the cycle
of crises afflicting the region, sustainable development, and
adapting to climate change.
The Minister for Development and Africa said:
“The Horn of Africa faces one of the most devastating
humanitarian crises in the world. The catastrophic drought over
the last two years has brought unimaginable suffering and
millions cannot access adequate water for drinking, cooking and
cleaning.
“As we’ve sadly seen in Sudan, conflict across East Africa is
tearing apart communities, with women and girls bearing the brunt
of the violence.
“Our funding could not come at a more critical moment, and it
is clear that we must act now, and do all we can to save
lives.”
Across the Horn of Africa around 43 million people require
humanitarian aid due to the devastating effects of conflict and
climate change. The Horn of Africa has also experienced a drought
of an unprecedented nature following five seasons of failed
rains, with livelihood systems collapsing, millions displaced and
hundreds of thousands of children forced to drop out of school.
The new UK funding will address the crisis by supporting victims
of gender-based violence, providing families with access to basic
services, nutritional support, emergency food and cash assistance
and sustainable water supplies. As part of the UK, US and Qatar's
pledges made today, all three countries have partnered to commit
£8.4 million for drought response and resilience support in
Somalia.
The UK is also pursuing all avenues to secure safe humanitarian
access in Sudan, and UK support pledged today includes £21.7
million to help address people’s urgent needs.
The UK continues to call on the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid
Support Forces to uphold international humanitarian law and allow
life-saving humanitarian access in Sudan.
[ENDS]
NOTES TO EDITORS
· The UK has committed £143
million to East Africa for the financial year 2023/2024. The
funding includes:
o £42 million for Ethiopia
o £5.8 million for Kenya
o £48 million for Somalia
o £18.9 million for South Sudan
o £21.7 million for Sudan
o £7 million for Uganda
· As a longstanding and
committed donor to Sudan, the UK has contributed more than £250
million in humanitarian aid in the past 5 years.
· Across East Africa the UN
estimates that almost 72 million people require humanitarian aid
this year due to a combination of pressures, following five
seasons of failed rains, conflict and flooding.
· The FCDO will host a
conference at Wilton Park 17-19 July to bring together key
stakeholders to look at how we can improve access to climate
finance for countries with high humanitarian needs.
· As part of the UK’s
commitment to Somalia, the US, Qatar and the UK have jointly
pledged/provided £8.4 million to support urgent assistance and
build resilience to the drought through the Building Resilience
Communities in Somalia (BRCiS) consortium. The UK contribution to
this partnership is £2m, with the UK taking on grant management
and technical leadership.
· The London School of
Tropical Medicine estimate 43,000 excess deaths occurred in
Somalia in 2022 due to drought, half of which were children under
five years old.
