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

International Development Minister Baroness Sugg visited Ghana last week to strengthen trade and investment ties ahead of the UK-Africa Investment Summit in 2020.

Co-hosting the UK-Ghana Business Council alongside the Ghanaian Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia, Baroness Sugg discussed how UK aid and investment can help Ghana move beyond aid by creating jobs, boosting growth and driving its huge economic potential.

During her visit, Baroness Sugg launched a new partnership between the London Stock Exchange and the Ghana Stock Exchange, which will see the UK share its world-class City of London expertise to help Ghana become a regional hub for financial services.

She also championed the use of UK aid to help businesses in Ghana in a range of sectors. This includes helping garment companies scale up their exports globally and supporting agri-businesses become more productive, competitive and attractive for investors.

International Development Minister Baroness Sugg said:

“Ghana is set to be one of the world’s fastest-growing economies this year and our flourishing partnership is helping to create jobs, improve access to basic services and boost economic growth, all of which are vital to ending poverty.

Building strong African markets will help attract quality investment from around the world and encourage more trade in the future. The UK-Africa Investment Summit in London next year will help further unlock the potential of African nations.

The UK and Ghana already enjoy strong economic ties: UK imports of goods from Ghana increased by 143.7% in the year to April 2018.

Africa is home to some of the fastest emerging economies in the world and the UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020 will provide a platform to promote the breadth and quality of investment opportunities across Africa.

The Summit will bring together businesses, governments and international institutions and will be a key milestone towards achieving the UK’s objective of becoming the largest G7 investor in Africa.”

The UK will host the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London on 20 January 2020.

ENDS

Notes to editors

The UK-Ghana Business Council meeting was co-chaired by International Development Minister Baroness Sugg and the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and attended by key Cabinet ministers.

Baroness Sugg attended the third meeting of the UK-Ghana Business Council which builds on previous agreements to focus on six priority sectors: agri-processing, financial services, textiles and garments, pharma, digital and extractives.

Below is a press release issued by the Department for International Development on 17/10/2019.

Written Statement made by Secretary of State for International Development Alok Sharma on 17 Oct 2019.

This week marks one year on since the UK Department for International Development hosted the 2018 Safeguarding Summit, Putting People First: tackling sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment in the aid sector.

In early 2018 the aid sector’s failure over many years to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment (SEAH) came into sharp relief.

The shocking stories that emerged exposed how aid workers had been allowed to get away with sexual misconduct. Their actions undermined trust in the whole sector and all the positive work that it does.

So from February 2018 DFID set out to work with others to change the way the aid sector tackles SEAH, from root to branch.

The October 2018 summit in London was an important milestone. More than 500 organisations came together to make commitments for change. This included 22 donors – who provide 90% of global ODA. We committed to global standards on prevention and improved processes covering ethical behaviour, robust recruitment and complaints processes.

These were not empty promises. Work is ongoing to put victims and survivors first and drive real culture change across the aid sector. This includes:

DFID’s £10 million project with INTERPOL to help stop perpetrators of SEAH moving around the aid sector by strengthening criminal record checks and information sharing between countries. Regional hubs are being set up and priority countries have been identified.

The Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, which means employers can share data on conduct and disciplinary records related to sexual misconduct with greater confidence. It is still early days, but the over 1,500 requests for information since January have prevented the hiring of at least 10 individuals.

Awarding the contract this month for DFID’s £10 million Resource and Support Hub to provide guidance, support and training to NGOs and others and access to independent investigators for smaller charities.

Today, DFID is publishing three reports showing some of the progress made and the challenges remaining.

The first has updates from each of the eight groups which made commitments at the summit: donors, UK NGOs, private sector suppliers, the United Nations, International Financial Institutions, CDC, research funders, and Gavi and the Global Fund. Initiatives include new tools and guidance for NGOs; mechanisms to collaborate and learn lessons among private sector suppliers; a new reporting tool for United Nations staff; the development of a Good Guidance Note by International Financial Institutions and CDC; an evidence review of safeguarding challenges by research funders; and the rollout of new training by Gavi and the Global Fund.

The second covers how donors are meeting their commitments. This includes the adoption of a new OECD Development Assistance Committee recommendation on ending SEAH in the aid sector; work to align donor SEAH clauses in funding agreements with multilateral agencies; and collective leverage to drive change across the UN. Donors are continuing to strengthen accountability, build more robust systems and drive culture change across the whole international system.

The third gives more details about what DFID has done. We have been clear that any sexual misconduct is totally unacceptable. But we know that sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment in the aid sector still happens far too often.

The international work led by DFID over the last year has generated good momentum and is starting to deliver results. But we must collectively keep working until every individual feels able to speak up and challenge abuses of power wherever they occur.

We must continue to do all we reasonably can to make zero tolerance a reality, by which we mean responding appropriately to every single report or case.

We must prevent SEAH from happening, listen to those affected, respond appropriately when allegations are made, and learn from every single case.

This is just the beginning of a long-term process.

I will build on the work of my predecessors to maintain momentum, to ensure the failings of the past do not happen again and to deliver better results for the people we serve.

If we do not get things right on safeguarding, and ensure the protection of the most vulnerable, then we fail in our ultimate goal to support the world’s poorest and jeopardise all the positive work aid does.

The commitments made at the London summit are having a positive impact. But more is required by every organisation and every programme if we are going to stop sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment in the aid sector. Something which we must achieve.

Below is a press release issued by the Department for International Development on 24/10/2019.

To mark World Polio Day this year, International Development Secretary Alok Sharma met with fundraisers, campaigners and polio survivors to thank them for their tireless efforts in the fight against the debilitating polio disease.

Speaking at the event, the International Development Secretary underlined the importance of support across society to end the disease, which can leave children unable to walk for the rest of their lives.

The commendable work of the Rotary Club’s members was celebrated, with clubs around the world having raised almost $2 billion to fight the disease. More than $40 million of this was raised by the Rotary Club’s 45,000 members in Great Britain and Ireland.

The UK is playing a leading role to eradicate polio, helping to immunise more than 45 million children around the world each year. The number of people contracting the disease around the world has been reduced by over 99.9% since 1988.

While only three countries in the world are yet to be declared wild polio free, experts predict that new cases could increase to 200,000 a year over the next ten years if efforts to fight the disease stall.

Speaking at the event, International Development Secretary Alok Sharma said:

Meeting with British people from across the country passionate about the fight against polio was a really uplifting moment. It was an honour to meet British polio survivors who have not only overcome adversity to succeed, but are now campaigning tirelessly to end the disease around the world.

We have made tremendous progress to fight the disease, and members of the Rotary Club here today have been pivotal in this, raising almost $2 billion globally since efforts began.

The UK is the second largest government donor in the fight against polio globally, and this is something I am incredibly proud of. We need to continue this vital work to immunise children, both around the world and in the UK, to keep polio at bay.

If we were to pull back on immunisations, in a decade we could see 200,000 new cases each year, which would be a tragedy for the children and the families affected, but also the world.

British polio survivors from across the UK joined the event to talk personally about how the disease affected their lives and why it is vital we work together across the world to eradicate it once and for all.

Fundraising efforts led by the Rotary Club in the UK has included their famous “Purple for Polio” campaign, where fundraising efforts are themed by the colour dye used to mark children’s fingers when they have received the polio vaccine. Creative fundraising events have included purple ice cream and teddy bears with purple jumpers.

There are now only three countries around the world that have not yet been declared wild polio free – Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria – with Nigeria not recording a case in the last three years.

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.”