Losing DfID must not end the UK’s global aid efforts
The prime minister’s recent announcement that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) will take over the Department for International Development (DfID) right in the middle of a global pandemic – without consultation, without evidence and without a plan – perfectly epitomises his premiership so far. But as the clock ticks towards September, when the department will cease to exist, it is vital, now more than ever, that Anne-Marie Trevelyan, as the secretary of state for international development, does not lose sight of the many pressing issues facing our country and the world here and now.
Much of her time left in office will inevitably be spent working on the takeover and, in the absence of any detail, working out what the new government department will look like. I imagine too, that the uncertainty of her own position in the coming months may become a distraction. But despite these uncertainties, I hope Trevelyan will demonstrate that the UK can be a force for good when it comes to supporting the world’s
poorest and most vulnerable.
Sadly, the UK has failed to step up and play a serious role in promoting global collaboration and cooperation. We have seen time and again that the government has failed to use the UK’s privileged position on the world stage to bring different parties together to overcome this pandemic. It is clear that the distraction of a rushed Whitehall restructure will only serve to weaken our capacity to respond.
We all want the world to succeed in overcoming this pandemic as quickly as possible, and that’s why I am pleased that the government listened to Labour’s calls to push at the UN Security Council for a global ceasefire that would ensure resources could be focused on health systems and that humanitarian assistance could move more freely.
I also hope that the government will listen to our other calls so we can work together in pursuit of a better, fairer and safer world for us all.
Responding to the immediate crisis, the government must attach conditions to UK public money to guarantee equitable access to diagnostics, vaccines and other treatments related to Covid-19.
In addition, to strengthen the ability of countries to respond to this crisis, the government must work with our international partners to agree a policy of debt cancellation for the world’s poorest countries, working with multi-laterals and private creditors to support universal healthcare around the world.
Only through demonstrating a genuine commitment to global collaboration and cooperation can we hope to build back better with the principles of climate justice, human rights and gender equality at the core.
These measures will provide countries with the capacity to focus on protecting their people from Covid-19 rather than fighting an ongoing conflict or scrambling to make debt repayments and, instead, focus on providing basic medical provisions for their citizens. It will mean that when a vaccine is produced, it will go to the people who need it rather than the person with the deepest pockets. Importantly, it will show that the UK has a positive, progressive vision for the world.
The British public are rightly proud of the impact that UK aid has in supporting the poorest and most vulnerable in the world. However, as we face the reality of lower GDP, precipitating huge cuts to the UK’s aid budget, projects and programmes that are not transparent or have been found to have no or limited development impact must be the focus of re-evaluation.
I urge the secretary of state to take stock of her government’s global response so far, to consider where they could have gone further, and to acknowledge where mistakes have been made. Trevelyan’s remaining months in her current role must be used wisely to push for real change and genuine measures to not only tackle the immediate crisis we are going through, but also to remember the original ambition at the heart of our development work: to eradicate poverty.
Only through demonstrating a genuine commitment to global collaboration and cooperation can we hope to build back better with the principles of climate justice, human rights and gender equality at the core