Speech
‘Meeting the Development Challenge’ - Speech by International Development
Secretary Douglas Alexander at Overseas Development Institute and All Party
Group on Overseas Development event, 11 October 2007
11 October 2007
 Thank
you very much indeed, John, for that kind introduction. As well as sharing a
long standing interest in international development, John Battle and I share a
previous job. We were both at one point Minister for Fashion, which my wife
regards as the most incongruous job I’ve held in Government.
It is a genuine pleasure to be asked to open a new season of APGOOD ( All
Party Group on Overseas Development) meetings. I have it on good information
from Gareth Thomas that there’s always a lively debate to be had, and in that
spirit I want to share my thoughts on how my Department can move forward.
DFID – A proud achievement
And it is a privilege to address this of all groups for the first time as
International Development Secretary. It is now ten years since this Government
established the Department for International Development, which I lead.
Ten years in which the UK has driven the development agenda, securing
historic pledges both for Africa and more broadly at the Gleneagles summit in
2005
Ten years in which the UK has risen from fifth in the donor league table to
become today the world’s second largest donor.
And ten years in which DFID has established its reputation as quite literally
the best aid agency in the world, named as a ‘model’ quite recently by the OECD.
That commitment, that determination, that dedication is changing lives.
Our aid now takes 3 million people out of poverty each year. Permanently.
Our support has helped treat a million Africans living with HIV/AIDS.
And this week’s CSR settlement that John mentioned in his introduction again
demonstrated the Government’s commitment to deliver on its promises to tackle
global poverty.
And we are on track to reach our commitment – the first such commitment given
by a UK Government - of spending 0.7% of gross national income on aid by 2013.
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Three questions
This has been DFID’s record over the last decade. And I describe it, not out
of complacency, certainly out of some pride, but out of a determination that
DFID will go on in the next ten years to build on this success, to help more of
the world’s poor.
To do this effectively, I believe that we must ask ourselves three questions:
Firstly, what does the world look like in 2007? The environment in which we
seek to do development? Secondly, what does that mean for meeting the
development challenge? Thirdly, what should be our immediate priorities for
action?
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The world in 2007
So to begin, what does the world look like in 2007? What’s clear is that the
old distinctions between domestic policy and foreign policy don’t exist in the
interdependent world we live in today.
We live in a world in which, each year, more than 190 million people – more
than the population of Brazil - leave their shores in search of a better life.
A world in which defaulted mortgages in the US lead to queues outside a
British building society.
And a world in which greenhouse gases emitted by one country can quite
literally reap a devastating whirlwind thousands of miles away.
Put simply, there is no ‘over here’ and ‘over there’ any more. In the world
of 2007, our self-interest and our shared interest are one and the same.
And 2007 means that it is now an appropriate time to consider not only our
shared interest, but also our shared promises.
For it is of course seven years since world leaders signed up to the
Millennium Development Goals, and seven years remain to reach the 2015 deadline
set back in 2000.
Undoubtedly, there has been progress. Debt cancellation and aid increases
helped to put 20 million more African children into school between 2000 and
2004. The proportion of the world’s population living on less than a dollar a
day has fallen from a nearly a third to a fifth.
But we are not moving fast enough to meet the MDGs.
We pledged, again as John reflected, to reduce infant mortality by two-thirds
by 2015, but unless we take action, we will not succeed until 2050.
We pledged to get every child into primary school by 2015, yet unless we take
action, we will not succeed until the end of this century.
And I am acutely aware that a disproportionate number of those living in
poverty are today still women. There has been too little global progress on
reducing maternal mortality over the course of the last 20 years.
So I am looking forward to opening next week’s ‘Women Deliver’ conference
here in London, that will bring delegates from around the world to London to
focus on how we can improve the lives of women, mothers and new born babies
around the world. I’m sure that many of you will be at that event as well.
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Meeting the development challenge - Governance
When I met Ban Ki-moon in New York two weeks ago, he expressed the need for
‘urgent and concerted action’ if we are to fulfil the full range of development
promises that have been made.
That action must be led by the governments of developing countries – for it
is their deeds, along with those of their institutions and citizens, that will
do most to determine the lives of the poorest people in the world.
Over the last decade, the Tanzanian government has improved public finances
and simultaneously strengthened local government. It is improving the conditions
for business and is taking action on corruption.
And what has been the result? The economy has grown by 6% a year since 2000.
There is less corruption. The proportion of children in primary school leapt
from 58% in 2000 to 95% in 2005. And yes, even infant mortality rates are down
by a third since 1999.
Just compare that for a moment to the experience of Zimbabwe, where the
economy has shrunk by 40% over the last ten years. Where life expectancy for
women - today just 34 years – is literally the lowest in the world. Where the
situation is so desperate, a quarter of the population has fled the country, and
half of the remaining population need urgent food aid.
That’s why DFID’s White Paper last year had good governance at its heart,
committing us to help build effective, responsive and accountable states.
For developing countries do not bear this responsibility alone.
That is why the Prime Minister, speaking in New York in July made clear, we
need a global partnership for development that stretches beyond governments and
politicians, to harness the talents of NGOs, businesses, faith groups, and
concerned and committed citizens everywhere.
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Meeting the development challenge - Working together to produce results
For we will not reach our objectives unless we act together. Last month
Gordon Brown and I joined together with fellow donors, developing countries, and
all the global health agencies to launch the
International Health Partnership.
That initiative recognises that increasing aid is only part of the solution.
It commits donors and health agencies to coordinate our efforts more
effectively. It commits developing countries to creating comprehensive health
plans. And it commits us all to building health services as a whole. To deliver
the doctors, drugs and clinics that are needed to save millions of lives.
And the International Health Partnership is already having a big impact in a
country like Mozambique, one of the pilot countries. Working with the Global
Fund for Aids, TB and Malaria, IHP members have helped to get Mozambique’s
health plans back on track – with aid being delivered more efficiently, with
beneficial results.
The International Health Partnership recognises that delivering on our
promise to the world’s poor is not simply a question therefore of delivering
more aid. We must address the fundamental challenges to development at the start
of the 21st century. Increasing growth. Dealing with climate change. Tackling
conflict. Making the multilateral system deliver for the poor.
So let me now turn to these priorities for DFID, beyond our unchanging focus
on good governance and delivering basic services.
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Priorities ahead
International Institutions
Firstly, in our interdependent world, action on challenges such as creating
effective states, tackling climate change and encouraging trade of course
requires effective multilateral institutions.
That is why DFID is so committed to multilateral action. That is why we spend
around two-fifths of our budget through the multilateral system. And that is why
we will spend more through multilateral organisations in the coming years.
We will not just maximise our contribution, but aim to maximise our influence
within those multilateral institutions. Our funding will be clearly linked to
progress on reforms. Because the international institutions, created of course
for a world as it was after the second world war, must be reformed to deal with
the world as it is now. Next month, when I travel to Washington to the World
Bank annual meetings, I will argue against forcing the poorest countries in the
world to privatise their most basic services.
When I was in New York just two weeks ago for the General Assembly meetings,
I made clear that the UK wants the recommendations of the UN High Level Panel on
System Wide Coherence to be implemented.
So I welcome what Bob Zoellick, the new President set out for the future
strategic direction of the Bank in a speech this morning, and his emphasis on
inclusive globalisation and the need to tackle climate change. I look forward to
discussing his ideas with my fellow governors of the World Bank at the meetings
next week in Washington.
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Increasing Growth
For many poor countries, aid is a much needed catalyst for development. But
in no country is it sufficient. Developing countries have long argued the
importance of growth for lifting their people out of poverty. And we in the
development community should not forget that ultimately we exist to work
ourselves out of business – and the best way to do that will be to encourage
growth and trade.
Just remember since the 1980s, East Asia’s income has doubled, and its trade
trebled – over the same period it has therefore lifted 500 million people out of
poverty. Meanwhile, over the same period, Sub-Saharan Africa has seen poverty
increase, as its share of world trade has shrunk to just 0.5%. Indeed,
Sub-Saharan Africa’s share of world exports is less than half that of the single
nation of Belgium.
No country has reduced poverty in the last 30 years without also increasing
trade. That is why Gordon Brown has asked me to chair the Cabinet Committee on
trade policy and work with my colleagues right across the UK government to
better align our aid, debt relief and trade policies to tackle poverty.
Our number one trade priority is to deliver the promise of
the Doha round. We need a
good deal for poor countries, and we need it now – there is nothing to gain by
delaying negotiations any further. I have postcards and emails from people –
perhaps from some of you in this room – concerned about the new Economic
Partnership Agreements due to be agreed by the end of this year.
The UK Government believes EPAs can, and must, benefit African, Caribbean and
Pacific countries. We want countries to have the right to decide where, when and
how they open their markets and whether this broadens beyond trade in goods. We
will continue to insist on this and provide support to poor countries so they
can negotiate their side of any deal.
But trade for me is not only about creating a level playing field. We also need
to equip countries to compete effectively, and to integrate effectively into the
global marketplace. This Government has pledged to spend $750 million a year on
aid for trade by 2010. The Investment Climate Facility for Africa, launched last
year with $30 million of UK funding, is using the expertise of the private
sector to help Africa become a better place to do business.
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Dealing with Climate Change
Yet the gains of economic growth, a more progressive trade environment and
all the combined aid that we can provide as donors will be neutralised, indeed
wiped out unless we tackle climate change – the greatest threat to development.
In 2005, many of you joined forces in a call to make poverty history. Unless
we now tackle climate change, it threatens to make poverty the future.
For climate change threatens all countries, but the poorest – who are least
responsible, and least able to cope with this threat – will be worst affected.
Rather than facing a threat, they are living a daily reality.
We must mitigate against further climate change, and help countries adapt to
the change which is already occurring.
That is why I am working with colleagues across government to press for a
global post-Kyoto framework agreement to reduce emissions. Any such agreement
must be based on the understanding that countries share common, yet
differentiated responsibilities. The
UN
Framework on Climate Change is the only body that can conclude a global
agreement, and the Bali conference in December will therefore be crucial in
plotting the next steps forward.
This Government is committed to helping developing countries on to a
low-carbon path for growth. The UK’s new £800 million Environment Transformation
Fund announced by Gordon Brown in March will help developing countries to adopt
those low-carbon technologies, adapt to climate change, and preserve their vital
and diverse ecosystems.
My Department is helping countries to adapt to the effects climate change is
already having. In Bangladesh, we have raised the homes of 32,000 families above
the ‘1 in 100 year’ flood level. We are spending around £75 million for research
and capacity building for climate change in Africa, Asia and Latin America. And
we are working with the UN and World Bank to ensure they provide global
leadership on adaptation.
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Tackling conflict
But if that is the challenge of economic growth and climate change, as
today’s newspapers report, the enduring centrality of conflict as a cause and
consequence of poverty at least matches the impact of climate change. Oxfam,
Saferworld and the International Network on Small Arms have called for more
progress on international arms controls and agreement for an Arms Trade Treaty.
Personally, I am proud the UK is leading the campaign for an Arms Trade Treaty
within the United Nations. We believe a strong treaty could make a real
difference for Africa. But we also believe an Arms Trade Treaty alone is not
enough.
We need to see more action to prevent conflict. The Government spends around £65
million each year on addressing the underlying causes of violence in Africa, and
building Africa's capacity to respond to contemporary conflicts. I believe this
is an area where my Department, the
Foreign
Office under David Miliband and the
Ministry
of Defence under Des Browne must continue to work closely together and we
meet regularly.
But of course tackling the causes of conflict, and its impact, is something many
of you know all about. When I visited northern Darfur
in July, I saw the costs of conflict first-hand. I spoke with mothers,
fathers and children forced from their homes. And I saw for myself the impact of
agencies such as Oxfam, providing water and sanitation to those who have been
displaced.
In Afghanistan, I was told of how the
Taliban pay young children a dollar a day to dig up landmines, which they then
use to attack NATO forces. Children so poor that risking their lives for a buck
seems like a good deal. I saw the work of the Halo Trust to help these
communities in the most difficult of circumstances. A charity based out of
Dumfries, working effectively with the Government of Afghanistan to return
farming land to good use.
We must make our response to armed conflict more effective. DFID has
increased our support to peace processes in Sierra Leone, Burundi and Liberia
among others. We were the largest bilateral supporter to the elections in the
DRC, giving the country the best chance it has had for two generations to begin
to build a better future.
But we need the humility and honesty to recognise this is not work the UK can
do alone. Tackling conflict is the responsibility of the international community
as a whole. If the responsibility to protect is to mean anything, then it must
mean something in Darfur.
The UN security council agreed a course of action for Darfur in resolution
1769. Now we need to make it a reality, by speeding up the deployment of the UN
and African Union peacekeeping force. By moving forward on peace talks. And by
getting humanitarian aid to the people who so desperately need it.
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Concluding remarks
Since it was formed ten years ago, the Department I lead, the Department for
International Development, has built a reputation as a global leader in its
field.
And it is a genuine privilege to be the International Development Secretary
in a Government that has shown such long-standing political commitment to
improving the lives and opportunities of the world’s poorest people.
This week’s Comprehensive Spending Review showed yet
again that we will match that commitment with hard cash and with funding. The
settlement – which will see overseas development assistance more than treble in
real terms from 1997 to 2010 – represents, I believe, a huge success.
And that success is not simply due to the political leadership of Gordon
Brown and indeed before him Tony Blair. Not simply due to the efforts of the
Department for International Development, and my predecessors as International
Development Secretary.
That success, in candour, is thanks to the dedication of the whole
development community that we enjoy here in Britain. A world leading group of
parliamentarians, think tanks, charities, trade unions, business people,
academics, faith groups and individuals who put the cause of ending poverty at
the heart of what we do.
This coalition has brought us to the moment of opportunity that we enjoy
today. Over the next week, we will see it in action again as campaigners around
the world call on people to stand up and speak out against poverty. I salute
this effort to press for accelerated action to achieve the MDGs. Back in July,
our Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for a
global partnership for development, urging the international community to
meet its promises. Just as in 2005, it took a global partnership to secure the
promises of the world’s leaders, I believe we now need a global partnership to
ensure they are delivered in concrete action.
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