The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer to two questions on 11th July 2022:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government:
- further to the Written Answer by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on 23 June (HL835), what assessment they have made of the severity of the food shortages in East Africa; and what plans they have to provide additional UK emergency aid to assist in alleviating famine conditions in that region.
- further to the Written Answer by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on 23 June (HL835) and recent findings from Christian Aid which found that only 23 per cent of the British public are aware of the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa, what plans they have to increase public awareness of the ongoing famine in East Africa.
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con): The UK is a major humanitarian donor to the East Africa region, providing more than £230 million to address humanitarian requirements across East Africa in FY 2021/2022.
The UK played a critical role in convening the recent UN Horn of Africa Drought Roundtable which took place in late April in Geneva. This included working with states in the region and the UN to ensure appropriate levels of participation. It helped to bring much needed focus on the drought and it mobilised roughly US $400 million in new funding.
The Minister for Africa is also engaging on the subject, attending a recent Ministerial Conference on global food security, highlighting there the need for greater focus on East Africa. In addition, she has also recently met with the Disasters Emergency Committee, comprising UK non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as well as writing to World Bank President David Malpass, urging further action on food security in the Horn of Africa.
We welcome the efforts of wider civil society organisations to raise public awareness. FCDO officials maintain continual dialogue with these groups, and have recently attended events in Parliament on the subject.
We continue to monitor the situation and our response closely.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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