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2005: UK leads effort to tackle global poverty

The leaders of the G8 countries walk along a beach 2005 offers a unique opportunity for the UK to help tackle world poverty.

The UK will play a leading role, through Presidencies of both the G8 (all year) and the European Union (2nd half of the year), in reaffirming the international community's commitment to the Millennium Development Goals.

DFID is determined to make the most of these opportunities in this make-or-break year, and will focus on stepping up progress in a number of areas, including: trade, debt, more aid and better aid

What's happening in 2005?

The Prime Minister has stated that he hopes the G8 Summit at Gleneagles in July, which will focus on Africa and climate change, will show that G8 leaders understand what is necessary to make faster progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to set the tone for the UN Summit and beyond.

During our EU Presidency, Africa will remain a priority. Hilary Benn, the Secretary of State for International Development, explained in early December 2004 how the UK is working with international partners such as the Commission for Africa, the European Union and G8 to lay the foundations for growth in African countries.

The Commission for Africa will report in the Spring of 2005 and the report will be circulated to all G8 leaders at the Gleneagles Summit. The Commission was launched by the Prime Minister in February 2004.

In September, the UN will come together at theMillennium Declaration Review Summit, which presents the last major chance the international community has to come together and agree to take the necessary action to get the MDGs back on track to be able to make significant progress by 2015. Kofi Annan has stated that he expects the Summit to be decisive.

Civil society and the NGO community are mobilising: other public events include theGlobal Week of Action (April 2005), Make Poverty History and the 20th anniversary of Live Aid ( July 2005), which will help bring development issues further into the public spotlight.

More aid, better aid

Sudanese refugee women sit in a food queue in Breidjing camp after fleeing Darfur

Image courtesy of External link Developments magazine

More aid. Aid works. Each year, British aid is helping more than 2 million people in the poorest countries of the world to escape poverty, permanently. The UK is on track to meet the UN target of 0.7% of national income to be spent on aid by 2013.

That's why, over the last 7 years, we have doubled the aid budget and are on track to double it again by 2013. We will be able to increase aid directly to Africa to £1 billion in 2005.

In January 2003 HM Treasury and the Department for International Development (DFID) launched their proposal for an International Finance Facility (IFF). The IFF is a financing mechanism which would provide up to an additional $50 billion a year in development assistance between now and 2015.

Better aid. The UK is working in partnership with developing countries to help them lead their own development. Aid works best when we're helping poor countries to help themselves.

As donors, we must match our priorities with those agreed in developing countries' own poverty reduction strategies. DFID must ensure that where we are working with governments, our support is channelled through government channels rather than duplicating their own or other donors' efforts.

Trade: A fair deal for poorer countries

A freshly picked cocoa pod, showing the cocoa beans inside Trade can deliver much more than aid, and 2005 will be a crucial year for world trade talks, which are vital to the incomes of the poorest countries in Africa.

More effort is needed to make world trade work for all countries, not just the most powerful. Some estimate that fairer trade could be worth up to three times the value of aid given by rich countries.

Following the progress made in last July's WTO negotiations in Geneva, the UK is working to achieve better access to rich countries' markets for products from developing countries and cuts in the subsidies that rich countries give to their own producers that make it impossible for producers from poor countries to compete.

The UK government's commitment to a sustainable world trading environment is set out in the'Making Globalisation a Force for Good' White Paper.

Debt

Drop the Debt campaigners

Image courtesy of External link Southernlinks.org

The UK is leading the way to end developing world debt once and for all.

The UK now writes off 100% of the debt of the most heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs). Under the HIPC Initiative, rich countries are wiping out US $70 billion of debt owned by the poorest countries.

Others, including the multilateral institutions, have not gone as far as this. We believe that multilaterals have the resources to write off all the debt owed to them by the poorest countries.

We are ready to press them on this and are working to persuade other rich countries to join this effort.

Make Poverty History

The Make Poverty History campaign brings together a wide cross-section of nearly 100 charities, campaigns, trade unions, faith groups and celebrities who are united by a common belief that 2005 offers an unprecedented opportunity for global change.

Make Poverty History is making demands on the UK Government and other donors around three themes: trade justice, dropping debt, more and better aid. Read more about DFID's response to the campaign.

DFID Department for International Development