Keep up with aid payments

AS someone who has lived in Africa and has friends from the global south, I have been concerned about proposals to subsume the Department for International Development (DfID) within the Foreign Office.

I’ve seen the good done by money from the rich world, bringing improved nutrition, education, health-care, and infrastructure. I’ve heard from others of the good our Development Aid does.

We’ve a couple of standing orders to development charities and although not a Tory, I was glad to acknowledge David Cameron’s achievement in 2015 of bringing our Overseas Aid up to the international target of 0.7% GNI agreed at the UN in 1970.

The life chances of innumerable children are better because of this and I feel it is mean-spirited if not unpleasantly stingy to begrudge our giving 7p in every £10 to help less favoured fellow human-beings.

Of course there are many nearer calls on our purse – we should support these as well. Charity may begin at home, but if it ends there it is just Scrooge-like self-interest.

Recently the Daily Mail asserted £1.5bn was being given to the ‘20 most corrupt countries.’

With the claims it published a stock photo of machine-gun toting Al-Shabab fighters, swathed in belts of ammunition and apparently dancing in regimented formation. These were said to be in Somalia, pandering to and stoking prejudice.

It did not question why anyone should be led to these apostate movements, who the corruptors might be, who the victims of corruption or where the money might end up and who ultimately would benefit from it.

DfID took the unusual step of responding directly with a formal statement which can be read on its website.

It countered the Mail’s imputation saying: “It is not the case that giving aid to a country with high levels of corruption is the same as giving aid to that country’s government. In fragile and conflict countries, UK aid always works with trusted partners on the ground – not through the governments directly.”

I for one have had enough of this bigotry.

Let’s maintain our aid and do good for the world’s poorest, who all too often are beset by evils disproportionately originating in the rich world.

Overseas Aid supporter