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Press Release
24 November 2007
UK announces £700 million aid to Uganda
Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for International Development, today announced a new ten year development partnership with Uganda worth at least £700 million in aid that will help continue the fight against poverty.
The Development Partnership Arrangement (DPA), signed by the Ugandan Minister of Finance Dr Erza Suruma, commits the UK to providing at least £70 million to Uganda each year for the next ten years. The DPA sets out a clear framework for UK support for Uganda’s continued development, incorporating both a respect for human rights and a commitment to tackling corruption.
Speaking from Gulu in northern Uganda, Douglas Alexander said:
“I am delighted to announce this £700 million long term commitment to support Uganda’s development. The Development Partnership Arrangement is an indication of the UK’s strong partnership with Uganda, and is based upon our shared values of reducing poverty, tackling corruption and having respect for human rights.
“This year, at least £15 million will be used to meet the humanitarian needs in northern Uganda, which is still recovering after years of conflict. Today I have visited a camp for people displaced by the conflict and seen for myself the challenges that remain to ensure that people can access basic water and sanitation and have enough to eat.
“Currently almost a third of the population of Uganda lives on less than $1 a day, but this figure masks the extraordinary development successes that Uganda has had over the past two decades. Since 1992, poverty rates in Uganda have almost halved and between 1995 and 2005, the percentage of the population with HIV/ AIDS has fallen from 18.5% to 6.4%. By signing the Development Partnership Arrangement, the UK is showing its commitment to reducing poverty in Uganda even further.”
The DPA is an important part of the UK’s effort to improve the predictability of aid for developing countries. By doing this, governments are able to make long-term plans, such as building schools and hospitals, or paying workers’ salaries, knowing that they will have the money available to meet their commitments. The DPA provides a transparent framework for the UK’s partnership with Uganda, and highlights the importance we attach to governance issues when we release resources.
Notes for editors
- Douglas Alexander has been attending the Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kampala, and is now visiting northern Uganda. He will then visit DFID programmes in Kenya and Tanzania.
- In 2007/08, £35 million of the £70 million commitment will be provided as Poverty Reduction Budget Support (PRBS). PRBS is money that goes directly into the Ugandan Government’s budget, to be spent on poverty reduction priorities identified by the Government. Another £15 million will be allocated to meet ongoing humanitarian needs and recovery efforts in the North of Uganda, including water and sanitation, health, and emergency food aid.
- The remainder of the 2007/08 £70 million commitment to Uganda will support ongoing project activities including: public sector reform; public financial management; anti-corruption; health, HIV/ AIDS and water and sanitation.
For further information, contact the DFID press office on 020 7023 0600, e-mail pressoffice@dfid.gov.uk or call our Public Enquiries Point on 0845 300 4100.
