We share UNICEF's assessment that the El Nino phenomenon has contributed to failed rains across Southern Africa, resulting in serious drought in both Zambia and Malawi, which in turn will have a serious impact on children and the most vulnerable. We welcome the swift actions of Presidents Hichilema (Zambia) and Chakwera (Malawi) in declaring a state of national disaster and emergency across Zambia and within 23 out of 28 districts in Malawi.<\/p>
In Zambia, the UK is committing to the rapid expansion of the Social Cash Transfer scheme to reduce food insecurity for an additional 6 million people and pivoting our existing nutrition programmes to expand access to treatment. We deployed a UK Humanitarian Stabilisation Operations Team to support the Government of Zambia's drought response coordination. In Malawi, the UK has contributed to the Government's investment into disaster risk financing instruments which will provide an immediate response when triggered. The Malawian Government is currently preparing its own El Nino Response Plan which will outline further international assistance requirements. The UK will continue to monitor the situation closely.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1547", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Benyon"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Benyon"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-04-10", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "HL3646"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-04-10T11:07:25.58Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "208"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2024-03-27", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Zambia: Droughts"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports from UNICEF that the 2023\u201324 El Niño phenomenon has led to the declaration of a national emergency in Zambia.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/738", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Alton of Liverpool"} ], "uin" : "HL3648"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1142756", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for International Development"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1142756/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The British Government is engaging actively with the Government of Zambia on the drought affecting large parts of Zambia to ensure assistance is provided to the many Zambians facing food insecurity.<\/p>
On 29th<\/sup> August, the Department for International Development\u2019s (DFID) visiting Director for West and Southern Africa met with the Zambian Minister of Finance and raised the allocation of resources for the drought response. The Head of Office for DFID Zambia and the British High Commissioner also met with the Vice President last month and encouraged Zambia to request international emergency assistance to scale up the response. DFID is in close contact with Zambia\u2019s Disaster Management Response Unit, the United Nations, and international Non-Governmental Organisations on the ground. The UK is planning to provide support to respond through Emergency Cash Transfers and treatment of acute malnutrition in the worst affected areas.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4044", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrew Stephenson"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Pendle"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Andrew Stephenson"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-09-09", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-09-09T15:47:43.54Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "20"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "International Development"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "International Development"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-09-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Zambia: Droughts"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions he has had with his Zambian counterpart on declaring a national emergency in relation to the drought and famine in western and southern Zambia.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1490", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mrs Madeleine Moon"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Bridgend"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mrs Madeleine Moon"} ], "uin" : "284344"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 2, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }