{"value":{"id":1189366,"askingMemberId":147,"askingMember":null,"house":"Lords","memberHasInterest":false,"dateTabled":"2020-04-22T00:00:00","dateForAnswer":"2020-05-06T00:00:00","uin":"HL3009","questionText":"To ask Her Majesty's Government what additional assistance they intend to provide to those countries in East Africa affected by COVID-19 to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and the increase in locusts currently swarming in that region.","answeringBodyId":20,"answeringBodyName":"Department for International Development","isWithdrawn":false,"isNamedDay":false,"groupedQuestions":[],"answerIsHolding":false,"answerIsCorrection":false,"answeringMemberId":4584,"answeringMember":null,"correctingMemberId":null,"correctingMember":null,"dateAnswered":"2020-05-04T00:00:00","answerText":"<p>We are deeply concerned about the combined impacts of COVID-19 and the locust outbreak in East Africa. Millions of people already face food insecurity in the region caused by humanitarian disasters and conflict. These outbreaks will exacerbate these challenges.</p><p>We are using UK aid to mitigate new health, humanitarian and economic risks across Africa and have pledged £744 million of UK aid globally to end the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>The UK is also supporting the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Regional Emergency Appeal for the locust outbreak and has contributed £7 million for the spraying of pesticides on the ground and by air. We will continue taking proactive action, including adapting our existing programmes to meet urgent needs.</p>","originalAnswerText":"","comparableAnswerText":"","dateAnswerCorrected":null,"dateHoldingAnswer":null,"attachmentCount":0,"heading":"East Africa: Locusts","attachments":[],"groupedQuestionsDates":[]},"links":[{"rel":"self","href":"/Questions/1189366","method":"GET"}]}