Blog

Below is a press release issued by the Department for International Development on 22/07/2019.

We are inviting people and organisations to share their views on the UK’s Voluntary National Review process and gather ideas on future stakeholder engagement.

The UK’s first Voluntary National Review (VNR) of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals) was released in the UK on 26 June and presented to the UN High Level Political Forum in New York on 16 July.

As it was the first time that the UK conducted a VNR, it has been an opportunity to reflect on progress, learn lessons and set out next steps, as we progress towards 2030.

The Department for International Development is conducting review activities to identify key strengths, challenges and lessons to be learnt from the VNR process and gather ideas on future stakeholder engagement. This survey focuses on the stakeholder engagement that was carried out as part of the VNR, including how and who we should engage in the future. Your input will help us identify clear next steps to further support the UK’s delivery of the Goals.

The Sustainable Development Goals are for everybody and we want to gather views from any group, organisation, or individual about the VNR process.

Below is a press release issued by the Department for International Development on 28/10/2019.

Article in CityAM by the Lord Mayor of London on his recent business delegation visit to Kenya.

For nearly a year, my mayoral programme – Shaping Tomorrow’s City Today – has promoted UK innovation and technology, addressed social and digital exclusion, and championed digital skills.

And during my recent business delegation visit to Kenya, I saw the great potential that technological innovation offers to individuals and communities seeking financial empowerment.

Over the last 12 months, I have had many such glimpses of a bright digital future.

In Estonia, it was the power of augmented reality to make teaching more interactive. In Indonesia, it was a motorcycle ride-hailing app to improve urban transport. Around the world, the fourth industrial revolution is well under way.

On my recent visit to Nairobi, alongside the Department for International Development, I was able to announce £10m of UK aid to support a local catalyst fund. This will help local fintech companies to connect with UK and international investors.

I met many local startups: one is making it safer and more affordable to cook with clean gas, while another combines agricultural data and behavioural analytics to help farmers know how to better plan their financial year.

With the Prime Minister hosting the UK-Africa Investment Summit early next year, the UK has the opportunity to offer its expertise and backing to exciting new enterprises like these.

In doing so, we can forge partnerships across Africa that turbocharge national economies, create thousands of jobs, and enrich lives all over the continent, while building a relationship of mutual prosperity.

Shaping Tomorrow’s City Today has also focused on digital and social inclusion in the UK, through widening social mobility and developing digital skills. The skills gap is already costing the UK economy billions of pounds each year, while more than 11m UK adults lack the vital skills needed to make the most of new technology.

That’s why the “future.now” initiative, launched earlier this month, is so important. This coalition of leading companies, digital skills providers, and charities is working with the government to empower everyone to thrive in a digital UK.

Backed by more than 40 members and our six founding partners – Accenture, BT, City of London Corporation, Good Things Foundation, Lloyds Banking Group and Nominet – future.now will reach millions of people across the country with the best in digital skills training.

I’ve seen for myself the relentless pace of digitisation across the global economy. It’s becoming ever more difficult to distinguish between today and tomorrow. I’ve also seen how businesses and societies across the world are already mastering innovation and technology to shape a better and fairer global economy.

The startling growth of the UK’s tech, media, and creative sectors – as well as our reputation for innovation in financial services – mean that we have a vital role to play in the fourth industrial revolution across the globe.

As my mayoralty comes to its conclusion, it is my hope – and expectation – that the UK will continue to play a leading role.

Below is a press release issued by the Department for International Development on 05/11/2019.

The seven-year project across Africa, the Middle East and Asia will challenge endemic violent behaviour against women and girls.

Programme to tackle violence against women and girls to be rolled out across Africa, Middle East and Asia after successful pilot scheme

Seven-year programme, worth £67.5m, is biggest ever support package by a single donor country to tackle violence against women and girls

Pilot scheme halved violence in some areas in just two years

A new UK aid programme will help stop violence against one million of the world’s poorest women and girls, the International Development Secretary Alok Sharma announced today.

The seven-year Department for International Development (DFID) project across Africa, the Middle East and Asia will challenge endemic violent behaviour against women and girls.

It will build on a successful pilot, which halved the levels of physical and sexual violence committed by men against their partners in some communities, including in Tajikistan, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In Ghana, for example, women in participating villages reported a 55 per cent drop in violence by their sexual partner over 18 months.

Projects included using group sessions with men and women to directly address the reasons why male partners were violent, giving women the skills to become more economically independent, and training faith leaders to challenge violence against women in their sermons, prayer groups and youth groups.

But the challenge remains high in many communities in developing countries. For example, 64% of women asked in a survey in Zambia had been sexually assaulted by their partner and 33% had been kicked, dragged, choked or burnt.

The new £67.5 million programme will work in more countries and expand previously successful projects to help even more women at risk.

It is the biggest ever investment by a single donor government on programming and research to prevent violence against women and girls globally.

International Development Secretary Alok Sharma said:

“Violence against women and girls affects communities around the world and one in every three women will experience it in their lifetime. It is an issue we must continue to tackle in both developing and developed countries.

However, for women and girls living in extreme poverty the threat is even higher. Failure to address this issue is not an option and doing nothing condemns future generations to repeat this cycle of violence.

This new support will make the lives of one million of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable women and girls safer – and help create a future where their daughters and granddaughters can live without fear.”

As well as expanding the successful pilots, the new programme, What Works to Prevent Violence: Impact at Scale, will support new projects with a focus on:

Communities hit by conflict and crisis. The risk of domestic violence rises during conflicts.

Reaching women and girls most at risk, including those with disabilities and adolescent girls

Addressing violence against children to stop violence passing from one generation to the next

As well as supporting projects on the ground, UK aid will also carry out research to determine which methods best stop violence against women and girls.

It follows DFID’s pioneering ‘What Works’ pilot scheme, which ran small-scale projects in 13 countries around the world, gathering evidence on what works to stop such violence.

Before this, there was little evidence internationally on how to tackle this issue, particularly in low and middle-income countries.

Below is a press release issued by the Department for International Development on 05/11/2019.

International Development Secretary Alok Sharma has pledged new UK aid support to help vaccinate more than 400 million children a year against polio.

UK support will help vaccinate more than 750 children a minute against polio in developing countries around the world

The UK package of up to £400 million will help support 20 million health workers and volunteers

Polio was wiped out in UK in the 1980s, but three countries – Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria – are still not officially wild polio free

International Development Secretary Alok Sharma has pledged new UK aid support to help vaccinate more than 400 million children a year against polio.

Without this new support, tens of thousands of children would be at risk of paralysis from the disease, which leaves many unable to walk for the rest of their lives.

The UK’s new package of up to £400 million will go towards the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. This means the UK, along with other donors, will help support more than 20 million health workers and volunteers to reach children with vaccines and other healthcare.

This funding which runs from 2020 to 2023 will help buy tens of millions doses of polio vaccine every year – enough to vaccinate more than 750 children a minute.

Global efforts to fight wild polio mean the disease now only exists in three countries worldwide – Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.

The UK’s new pledge will help global efforts to end the disease for good.

International Development Secretary Alok Sharma said:

“We have made tremendous progress to fight this debilitating disease, but our work must continue if we are to eradicate it for ever.

That’s why I am today committing fresh support to help immunise 400 million children a year around the world.

If we were to pull back on immunisations, we could see 200,000 new cases each year in a decade. This would not only be a tragedy for the children affected and their families, but also for the world. We cannot let this happen.”

Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates said:

“We have the ability to wipe polio off the face of the planet. But that will require more support to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

I’m excited to see the UK leading the way on this front. Their generosity will make a huge difference in eradicating this disease once and for all.

This new pledge brings UK support to end polio up to £1.7 billion since 1995. Thanks to global efforts, backed by the UK, more than 18 million people are currently walking who would otherwise have been paralysed by the virus.”

Jim Bailey, a 63-year-old polio survivor from Belfast said of the new funding:

I contracted Polio in 1957. No child should have to go through what I and so many others have been through.

On my recent visit to Pakistan I saw for myself how UK aid is helping to end polio once and for all. This new UK aid support is great news, helping to pave the way for a polio-free world.

Below is a press release issued by the Department for International Development on 21/11/2019.

Head of DFID Ghana Philip Smith delivered a speech on “Bridging the Inclusion Gap with the Disabled” at the SDGs Global Summit in Accra on 21 November.

Minister of Health – Honourable Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, Minister of Gender, Children & Social Protection – Honourable Cynthia Morrison M, Minister of Planning – Honourable George Gyan-Baffour, distinguished panelists, ladies and gentlemen,

It’s a pleasure to join you today at this Global Youth SDGs Summit to deliver a few brief remarks to open this important panel discussion on ‘Bridging the Inclusion Gap with the Disabled’.

We know that globally more than one billion people are living with disabilities – 80% of whom live in developing countries.

These are some of the most excluded people in the world, often locked out of education, jobs, and overlooked by decision-makers.

The World Health Organization estimates the disability rate of Ghana to be between 7 and 10 per cent.

As a longstanding friend of Ghana, the UK welcomes the government’s focus on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

People with disabilities are at the heart of the SDGs’ overarching call to ‘leave no one behind’.

We also applaud His Excellency the President’s vision for a self-reliant Ghana.

Disability inclusion is critical to that ambition. When 10% of the population is unable to achieve their potential, when they are prevented from being productive, or when their voices are simply not heard, there can be no sustainable path to development.

And “bridging the inclusion gap”, the topic of today’s panel, is a global challenge for us all. In the UK, in Ghana, and across the globe, we have made far too little progress in tackling the root causes of the stigma, discrimination and abuse that hold people with disabilities back.

In Ghana, as in other countries, a large majority of persons with disabilities in Ghana are either not employed, under-employed or earn lower wages than people without disabilities. Gender inequality furthers that divide.

However, there is growing recognition of the importance of ensuring that people with disabilities are integrated into socioeconomic development efforts.

And I am heartened to see many champions in this room and on the panel leading the wave of change here in Ghana.

Last year, the UK hosted the first ever Global Disability Summit in London. We set the bar high, not just for ourselves – but for all development agencies and governments.

The Global Disability Summit was an expression of a new momentum towards disability inclusion resulting in 320 organisations and governments, including the government of Ghana, making important commitments and signing up to the Charter for Change – to drive implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The government of Ghana’s eight commitments, made at the Summit, provide a significant opportunity to drive forward increased investment and action in tackling stigma and discrimination, improving data and fundamentally in ensuring better inclusion of disabled people, particularly women and girls, in education, in economic empowerment and in technology and innovation.

The UK is committed to supporting Ghana to achieve these commitments, building on the work we have been doing over the last ten years across the country to support mental health.

Over the next few years, DFID support to disability inclusion will focus on three areas:

Firstly, supporting government to strengthen policies and strategies that address chronic poverty, disability, poor mental health and wider exclusion. This will include a specific focus on promoting community-based care and supporting long-term reforms to de-institutionalise people with disabilities/mental health conditions from hospitals, prayer camps and other institutions.

Secondly, the UK will support government to scale up social services – including cash transfers to the poorest households- with a new focus on jobs and skills. We will support Ministry of Health to integrate quality mental health services through primary health care at scale. We will provide technical support to ensure better use of disaggregated data by disability status and support government to mainstream gender across its programmes.

And thirdly, we will support the efforts of civil society, disability persons organisations and self-help groups to address stigma, discrimination and human rights violations to support Ghana’s efforts to transform attitudes and behaviours that drive social exclusion.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We congratulate the government of Ghana in its foresight in making disability inclusion and mental health key priorities.

Backing these commitments with sufficient resourcing and appropriate legislation will be the key to affecting real change.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to applaud the Ministry of Gender on the recent inauguration of the Disability Technical Committee to facilitate the consultation process for the review of the Disability Act and Legislative Instrument to comply with the UN Convention.

We call on the government to go further still beyond policy commitments to champion disability inclusion – to improve access to services, making sure that these are integrated into general health services and are closer to communities; and to make them free at the point of use to those that need them.

As Ghana continues to make progress towards self-reliance, we look forward to growing the partnership between our two countries – ensuring that persons with disabilities and mental health conditions, especially the poorest and most marginalized, will have access to the care they need and can contribute to their communities.

In closing let me say that,

Today we are at a point of decision and opportunity, where in the 11 remaining years of the Sustainable Development Goals, we still have time to realise their full ambition to address the root causes of poverty and inequality and achieve development that works for all people.

Next week, we mark the International Day for Persons with Disability on 3rd December. This year’s theme is ‘Promoting the participation of Persons with Disabilities and their Leadership”.

As Young Ghanaians, we urge you all to join this call to action for disability-inclusive leadership.

As Ghana’s future, you all have a critical role to play in the global effort to reduce stigma against people with disabilities, to respect their dignity and rights and, in so doing, to create a better world for us all.

Thank you.

Below is a press release issued by the Department for International Development on 09/12/2019.

Second UK aid-funded Emergency Medical Team (UK EMT) will be deployed to help tackle the deadly measles outbreak in Samoa.

The UK government has confirmed today (9 December) that a second UK aid-funded Emergency Medical Team (UK EMT) of 14 British medics will be deployed to Samoa to tackle a deadly measles outbreak over Christmas.

A first team flew out from the UK on 29 November and is working for two weeks in Samoa to help people suffering from the virus. The UK government has now committed to extend its support.

The second UK team will replace the current team of 14 British medics and is expected to arrive on 15 December. They will be working 12 hour shifts over Christmas to treat critically ill children in Samoa’s national hospital in Apia.

120 patients are currently receiving treatment in Samoa’s national hospital for measles. Over 90% of those who have died since the outbreak began have been children under three. The UK team has been treating and resuscitating children with measles to prevent further loss of life.

Measles is a highly contagious virus that can spread to others through coughing and sneezing. Each case can infect many other people and complications can lead to pneumonia, severe diarrhoea and encephalitis or inflammation of the brain.

International Development Secretary Alok Sharma said:

“I want to thank those British medics in the South Pacific for their dedication, especially at this time of year, for working so hard to tackle this deadly outbreak and treat those who are infected.

The next wave of medics will ensure that patients will continue to be seen over the Christmas period, and that the UK will play our part in stopping more families losing loved ones to this deadly disease.”

Becky Platt, paediatric nurse with the UK Emergency Medical Team, currently in Samoa, said:

The medical system here is under the most enormous amount of strain, with the hospital operating far, far beyond its usual capacity. The local staff have been working around the clock for weeks and weeks on end, many of them without proper breaks or any days off. Some of them are absolutely on their knees.

We’ve seen some cases of very, very sick children. Children are dying from the complications of measles.

Stephen Owens, paediatric consultant with the UK Emergency Medical Team, currently in Samoa, said:

Almost all of the patients are children under the age of five.

It’s great to see this NHS team just click into place here with real professionalism. We will treat as many patients as possible and hopefully save lives.

David Wightwick, UK-Med CEO said:

“UK-Med and our partners Humanity & Inclusion are glad to have prepared a second team of healthcare professionals to help treat children affected by the measles outbreak in Samoa with funding from UK aid. We’d like to thank our hugely dedicated team members, who have been working around the clock alongside AUSMAT and Samoan colleagues, for their dedication and professionalism.

Thank you to our committed second wave team members for supporting this vital response to help save lives and alleviate suffering of those affected.”

Below is a press release issued by the Department for International Development on 21/12/2019.

UK aid workers have helped millions of people around the world this year.

International Development Secretary Alok Sharma has hailed the UK’s ‘humanitarian heroes’ – the thousands of aid workers working overseas who’ve helped millions of people around the world in 2019.

From fighting Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo to dealing with humanitarian emergencies like the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh, and reacting to Cyclone Idai in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi, UK aid heroes have worked tirelessly across the globe to save lives.

UK aid efforts are currently focused on sending British medics to fight a deadly measles outbreak in Samoa over Christmas.

And throughout 2019, UK aid has been at the forefront of tackling major global challenges

Thanks to UK aid:

Over 250,000 people have received vaccinations against Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring countries since August 2018 – amid the ongoing threat of violent attacks on brave health workers.

Aid heroes helped the survivors of Cyclone Idai with food for 700,000 people and temporary shelter for 50,000 people.

More than 20 million women and girls in the world’s poorest countries a year can now access contraception, helping to save over 8,000 lives and prevent over seven million unintended pregnancies that can stop girls going to school and fulfilling their potential.

45 million children around the world have been vaccinated against polio, which means Nigeria could be certified polio free in 2020.

More than 550,000 people at risk of starvation in Zimbabwe have received food and vital cash assistance.
100,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh received food for a year, while 250,000 were given clean water and sanitation.

One million Yemenis have received food, access to better water supply and sanitation each month and 70,000 children have been treated for malnutrition.

Developing countries will receive more help to tackle the impact of climate change as we double our aid spend in this area.

Some of the most vulnerable people affected by the Syria conflict received food and medicine – with over a million vaccinations and almost 30,000 food rations.

International Development Secretary Alok Sharma said:

I want to thank the many UK aid workers who have helped millions of people around the world in 2019, including those at risk from Ebola or polio, humanitarian crises and conflicts. It is crucial our work continues in 2020, with 1 in 45 people around the world facing a humanitarian crisis next year.

The work of these aid heroes never stops. Right now, for example, UK medics are helping children in Samoa suffering from measles – a deadly disease, but one which is entirely preventable. I am proud that they are giving up Christmas at home to save lives.

The UN has warned that nearly 168 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2020 – the highest figure in decades.

Becky Platt, a paediatric nurse from Hertfordshire, spent two weeks with the UK’s Emergency Medical Team (EMT) in Samoa tackling the measles outbreak earlier this month. Other members of the EMT are working in Samoa over Christmas.

Becky said:

“We cared for some of the most critically unwell children I have seen in over 20 years of nursing during the measles outbreak in Samoa.

While being incredibly challenging, the experience was also hugely rewarding, and I believe we made a real difference to children and families.

It was an opportunity to work with outstanding international colleagues and to bring valuable skills and experience to our work in the NHS.”

Below is a press release issued by the Department for International Development on 10/01/2020.

By using clean energy, lives are being transformed across Africa.

600 million people in Africa don’t have power. London based company BBOXX is helping to crack that buy helping to supply off-grid communities across Africa with clean energy.

Below is a press release issued by the Department for International Development on 14/01/2020.

International Development Secretary pledges new UK aid to help build green cities across Africa with quality infrastructure.

Alok Sharma announces new UK Centre for Cities and Infrastructure which will help African governments plan, build and run environmentally friendly cities.

Visit to Kenya comes ahead of the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London on January 20.

The International Development Secretary today (Tuesday 14 January) pledged new UK aid support to build the African cities of the future, so the continent can continue to thrive and reach its economic potential.

Alok Sharma, on a visit to Kenya, announced he would set up a UK Centre for Cities and Infrastructure, which will turbo-charge investment in fast growing cities across the developing world.

The Centre will provide British expertise to African governments and city authorities to improve the way cities are planned, built and run, including making them more environmentally-friendly. It will focus on improvements to infrastructure, including water and energy networks.

During his trip, Mr Sharma also announced an expansion of the Department for International Development’s (DFID’s) Cities and Infrastructure for Growth programme to Ghana, Rwanda and Sierra Leone.

The programme helps UK businesses invest in quality, resilient infrastructure, boosts access to reliable and affordable power and creates construction jobs.

International Development Secretary, Alok Sharma said during his trip to Kenya:

Our new UK aid support, announced ahead of the UK-Africa Investment Summit, will contribute to creating the African cities of the future, using British expertise to provide quality, green infrastructure across the continent.

Infrastructure is the backbone of economic growth. It helps the poorest people access basic services such as clean water and electricity, creates jobs and boosts business.

I’ve seen this first hand as I’ve travelled across Kenya and am proud to see British companies thriving here. This will benefit people and businesses across Africa, but also back at home in the UK, creating a successful future for all of us.

Mr Sharma’s trip came ahead of the UK-Africa Investment Summit next Monday (20 January), which will create new lasting partnerships to deliver more investment, jobs and growth, benefitting both Africa and the UK.

African cities produce more than half of the continent’s income, but too many suffer from poor connectivity and congestion which continues to hinder growth.

The continent’s urban population is 472 million and set to double over the next 25 years. This growth provides an opportunity for African cities to prosper if the right infrastructure and jobs are available with UK support.

On Sunday, Mr Sharma visited Kisumu, in western Kenya, where British businesses such as drinks company Diageo and solar power provider Azuri Technologies operate.

Diageo makes beer in its modern, environmentally-friendly brewery in the city, using sorghum plants from nearby farms. This in turn boosts incomes of Kenyan farmers and helps them provide for their families.

Azuri, whose UK base is in Cambridge, provides pay-as-you go solar energy systems to off-grid homes across Africa, including in the Kisumu area. This is helping families to store food in fridges and providing light for children to do their homework.

Yesterday, The International Development Secretary opened the Securities Exchange in Nairobi. He was there for the listing of East Africa’s first green bond, which DFID supported Acorn Housing to develop, by providing British expertise.

Later, Mr Sharma visited a climate-friendly student housing complex in Nairobi, which the bond is helping Acorn to build.

Yesterday evening, he met female entrepreneurs and tech start-ups in the Kenya capital, which are attracting international interest and investment.

At the event it was announced new UK company Circle Gas is investing £17m to scale up clean cooking technology, which DFID helped to develop.