Launching a new
White Paper, Building our Common Future, Mr Alexander said the
measures would bring help to the 50 million people worst hit by
the global recession, keeping children in school, parents in jobs
and the most vulnerable out of destitution.
The White Paper represents a fundamental shift in the way the UK
delivers development aid, refocusing resources onto fragile
countries and for the first time treating security and justice as
a basic service alongside health, education, water and sanitation.
Fifty per cent of new bilateral funding will be committed to
fragile countries.
Key announcements in Building our Common Future include:
* A renewed commitment to 0.7 per cent of UK Gross National
Income (GNI) for international development, meaning a contribution
of £9bn per year by 2013;
* Measures to reduce maternal
mortality rates and potentially save the lives of six million
mothers and babies by 2015;
* Plans to support over eight
million more children in Africa go to school;
* Doubling of
funding to £1bn for African infrastructure including transport,
energy and trade in the region;
* A tripling of funding to
support developing countries to recover stolen assets, and new
resources to Interpol, as part of a major effort to stamp out
corruption;
* Increased investment in the Central Emergency
Response Fund for humanitarian aid at the UN;
On fragile countries:
* Helping to ensure that security and justice are treated as a
basic service – alongside health, education, water and sanitation
– in the developing world with funding tripled to £120 m by 2014.
This will include training police officers, setting up law courts
and protecting women from violence;
* A focus on jobs in five
of the most vulnerable countries - Yemen, Nepal, Nigeria, Ethiopia
and Afghanistan – where 7.5 million people will benefit from jobs
and economic opportunities;
On growth and trade:
* A quadrupling of funding to promote fair and ethical trade
* A new International Growth Centre to offer world class economic
expertise and practical advice to poor countries;
On climate change:
* Renewed commitment to £800m to support climate adaptation, low
carbon growth and protection of forests;
* The piloting of
new low carbon innovation centres and a global climate change
knowledge network.
Douglas Alexander said:
“We have made great strides over the past decade in tackling
global poverty but there is much still to do.
“The economic downturn has had a devastating effect on the
developing world, whilst millions live surrounded by conflict and
violence. And we must face up to the havoc climate change could
cause in the poorest countries.
“We will take action to save lives, put children in school and
give mothers access to much-needed healthcare. But we will also
support economic growth and tackle climate change – for many
developing countries not a future threat but a current reality.
“Poverty and fragile countries go hand in hand. We cannot make
the impact we need to unless we work in the most difficult environments.
“I am determined to help create stable societies where ordinary
people can learn, train, work and prosper.
“This is not just in their interests but in our own – the
economic crisis has highlighted as never before the
interdependence of nations, rich and poor, across the world.”
There are currently 1.4 billion people living in extreme poverty,
of whom one-third live in countries affected by conflict and
instability. The economic crisis will force a further 90 million
people into poverty and could lead to 400,000 more children dying
every year.
Douglas Alexander also set out his desire to see a “fair and
equitable” deal from the Copenhagen climate change conference in
December. Building our Common Future reaffirms the Government’s
commitment to contribute to a $100bn fund to help developing
countries tackle climate change which provides funding over and
above existing aid commitments.
This is a key step on the path to Copenhagen.
Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate
Change, said;
"To fight global poverty successfully we must also fight
for an ambitious global climate deal at Copenhagen this December.
“The Prime Minister’s recent climate finance proposal puts the
developing world at the centre of the global deal – ensuring that
those poorest countries are given the help to deal with the
consequences of climate change, but also help them grow in a low
carbon way.”
Building our Common Future also marks the launch of a new UKaid
logo which will be used during humanitarian operations to show UK
citizens how development money is being spent.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Building our Common Future can be found on the DFID website at www.dfid.gov.uk/commonfuture
UKaid is a new logo which will demonstrate how UK development
work is improving the lives of the world's poorest
people. UKaid will be used to highlight DFID's work,
especially during our response to humanitarian emergencies.
DFID, the Department for International Development: leading the
British government’s fight against world poverty. One in five
people in the world today, over 1 billion people, live in poverty
on less than one dollar a day.
Information Department 1
Palace Street, London SW1E 5HE. Website: www.dfid.gov.uk
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