Minister of State for International Development and Midlothian MP Kirsty McNeill has highlighted the human toll of the climate crisis after visiting health workers and families in Ethiopia’s Afar region.
The remote region in eastern Ethiopia has been severely affected by worsening climate shocks, including prolonged droughts and unseasonal flooding, which have strained healthcare access, water security and traditional pastoral livelihoods.
Sharing her reflections from the ground, McNeill said:
“I met with health workers and families facing the devastating realities of climate shocks in Afar. Their daily reality is so different to mine but their hopes are the same. Parents want their children to be safe and able to thrive.”
Supporting frontline humanitarian and health relief
During her visit alongside UNICEF and international aid agencies, McNeill met frontline health practitioners and community leaders coordinating emergency support for malnourished children and displaced families. She was appointed Minister for Development to drive day-to-day delivery of the UK’s international development work.
Key priorities of UK climate resilience and aid work in the region include:
- Emergency maternal and child healthcare: supporting mobile health clinics to deliver vaccines, clinical care and therapeutic food to vulnerable children in remote lowlands.
- Climate adaptation and water security: partnering with international organisations on water-management infrastructure and drought-resistant agricultural projects.
- Resilience to extreme weather: targeted aid to help pastoralist communities rebuild after consecutive failed rainy seasons and extreme temperature spikes.
A global commitment to climate resilience
McNeill emphasised that tackling climate insecurity is linked to international stability, sustainable development and long-term economic resilience.
The visit underlines the government’s commitment to British development partnerships with climate-vulnerable nations, so humanitarian aid reaches those hit hardest by accelerating environmental change.
