Tag: Alan Duncan

Below is the text of the speech made by Alan Duncan, the then Minister of State for International Development, on 18th October 2012.

Business has a vital role to play in economic development, reducing poverty and helping to build countries that will be ever more valuable trading partners for the UK. What is good for business should be good for society.

Last year, DFID set up a Private Sector Department to spearhead a new level of engagement with the private sector. I want to spend the next few minutes telling you about why the private sector is important and how we are harnessing the power of private enterprise to generate opportunity and prosperity for poor people in developing countries.

The private sector’s role in poverty reduction

We know that economic growth is the primary driver of poverty reduction and that the private sector is the engine of that growth; creating new jobs, opportunities, markets and prosperity. For example, 90% of jobs in the countries in which we work are generated by the private sector.

Private enterprise is not just a generator of wealth. The majority of goods that poor people buy and many basic services that they need are also provided by the private sector. Poor people buy some of their healthcare provision from private and other non-state providers – over 50% of parents in sub-Saharan Africa, and over 80% in South Asia – or choose to pay for their children’s education – more than half of the children in school in Lagos, Nigeria attend low-fee private schools. New thinking within the private sector offers insights in to how to ensure better access to these vital goods and services.

How we are working with the private sector

I am now going to briefly outline how DFID is working to maximise the development impact of business to increase investment opportunities; support new approaches; and help business to act responsibly.

Firstly, we are helping to accelerate growth by increasing investment in poor countries.

We have revitalised CDC – the UK’s Development Finance Institution – which has almost £2bn invested.  CDC now has a clear focus on poor countries.

Our £75m contribution to the International Finance Corporation for a new finance facility for small and medium enterprise will share risks with banks to increase lending to small and medium enterprises. The facility is expected to increase investment capital available to some 200,000 SMEs over the coming years.

Secondly, we are developing new approaches to business that generate profits and have strong developmental impact.

For example, we have helped transform a rural sales programme that generates income for rural women in Bangladesh from charity into a private company – JITA – through technical assistance from DFID’s Business Innovation Facility. JITA’s door to door saleswomen sell affordable basic goods, such as soap, toothpaste, washing powder or vegetable seeds. So far, JITA has provided income earning opportunities for over 2,800 women and expects to reach 12,000 by the end of 2014.

DFID also supports UK and European retailers to test innovative approaches that develop or expand routes to market for African food producers, through the Food Retail Industry Challenge Fund.  One project, led by Taylors of Harrogate – who are here today – works with Rwandan factories and smallholder tea growers to help improve production and processing techniques. This has resulted in a secure, direct source of premium tea for Taylors and contributed to higher returns being shared equitably amongst factory owners and over 10,000 tea growing smallholders.

Thirdly, we promote business that is responsible.

DFID is committed to raising standards; encouraging the private sector to invest and operate in developing countries in a way that is socially responsible, environmentally sound and legally compliant.

Of course, DFID provides support to the global Fairtrade system through our £12m Programme Partnership Arrangement with Fairtrade International. Our support, along with that of other donors, is helping to strengthen, broaden and deepen the impact of Fairtrade.

Our work on codes and standards is complemented by specific interventions aimed at improving the working conditions for people in developing countries, often working in international supply chains. For example, we provide support to the Ethical Trading Initiative, which drives better working conditions for 8.6 million workers in 40,000 supplier companies. We help retailers and civil society organisations change working practices in factories that make ready-made garments for the UK market, through our Responsible and Accountable Garment Sector programme. Projects have shown that private enterprise can be both good for business and good for society. Workers pay and working hours have improved, simultaneously with improving business results.

Why Fairtrade is important

Since the launch of the first Fairtrade label in 1988, to becoming the most widely recognised ethical label globally, Fairtrade’s unique proposition has always been to help farmers and workers get fair prices and improve the quality of their lives. Today, Fairtrade supports over 1.2 million farmers and workers in over 66 countries, which is a magnificent achievement.

We see Fairtrade as a good example of how consumers, producers, businesses, non-governmental organisations and governments can work together to help improve the lives of poor people.

Yes, there are critics of Fairtrade, and we know that we need to build the evidence base so that we can see more clearly the impact certification is having on the lives of poor people. Fairtrade is already involved in work that is helping them to better monitor and evaluate their impact.

There are challenges ahead, but we have many examples of how Fairtrade helps retailers and brand owners engage more directly in their supply chains, enabling them to demonstrate the social and environmental impacts of their buying decisions.

As you know, there have been a number of large scale commitments made by big companies to Fairtrade. In 2008, Tate & Lyle announced their commitment to convert 100% of their retail branded sugar to Fairtrade. Kraft’s Cadbury Dairy Milk and Nestle’s Kit Kat committed to go Fairtrade in 2009, and this year, Mars Maltesers gained the Fairtrade mark.

These commitments bring about real change in people’s lives, and are testament to the growing efforts being made by business to integrate fair and sustainable sourcing into their core business practice. Of course, we must not forget the number of small and medium enterprises and dedicated fair trade companies who have promoted ethical business for many years, and continue to do so today.

The UK currently leads the world in driving Fairtrade. We account for over a quarter of global Fairtrade sales. Half of UK consumers say they regularly purchase Fairtrade products. I wish you all well for a productive and engaging conference and challenge you all to reach new heights in harnessing the power of responsible enterprise for development.

Below is the text of a speech made by the International Development Minister, Alan Duncan, at the launch of the 2012 Global Hunger Index. The speech was made in London on the 15th October 2012.

I am delighted to be here at the UK launch of the 2012 Global Hunger Index.

As the latest report by the International Food Policy Research Institute confirms, there has been some progress in reducing global hunger. However, it can only be described as modest progress, as many of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people remain in serious danger of hunger and malnutrition.

The Global Hunger Index report explicitly highlights the especially worrying situation in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Almost a billion people are still going to bed hungry every night. Another billion lack the necessary nutrition to live healthy lives.

According to the 2012 Global Hunger Index, 20 countries had levels of hunger that were “alarming” or “extremely alarming.” That’s without even taking into account the food crises in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel region. Some of the countries with the highest hunger burden – such as Somalia, Burma and the Democratic Republic of Congo – were not included because there quite simply just isn’t enough accurate data.

Nobody quite knows how many hungry people there are in the world. Whatever the specific number, it is clear that levels of hunger and malnutrition are quite simply unacceptable. And what we do know about probably understates quite significantly the wider problem.

This is why, since 2008, the UK has more than doubled its spending on tackling malnutrition and has significantly increased its programmes, which now cover 15 countries within our direct bilateral activity.

Just last week I visited Yemen, where I saw at first hand the pressing need to address the hunger crisis that is escalating there. I am pleased to report that DFID has recently launched a new programme which will focus on the prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition for up to 1.6 million Yemeni women and children. Over the next three years, specifically out of our £200m programme, £35m will be invested in tackling this critical issue. I think it’s true to say that when you lift the lid on Yemen you find that nearly a quarter of infants are malnourished.

Other examples of the UK’s work include Bangladesh, where we are delivering vitamins, minerals and other nutrition support to adolescent girls, pregnant women, and to 225,000 children under the age of 5. In Zambia, the UK is using Coca-Cola’s distribution channels to expand the provision of oral rehydration and zinc supplements for the treatment of acute diarrhoea.

Between 2011 and 2015, the UK will reach 20 million children under the age of 5 with nutrition programmes. We will also ensure that another 4 million people including adults have enough food through the year.

The recent high level event on hunger hosted by the PM at Number 10 galvanised global efforts to reduce wide scale malnutrition. Government representatives, non-governmental organisations, and private companies all forged a strong partnership to act on the challenge together. I also recently spoke at the Scaling Up Nutrition event in the margins of UN General Assembly, which brought together key partners to address this important issue, and I’m pleased to say that when I was in Yemen last week, they too agreed to join the initiative themselves.

We’re not only supporting nutrition-specific programmes. We are also making sure that other sectors, for example agriculture, deliver better outcomes in the fight against global hunger.

We’re making sure that our programmes help people to become more resilient to shocks and disasters, so that they can protect their food security and livelihoods, and continue to work their way out of poverty once an emergency is over.

For our programmes to be effective in transforming the lives of those most in need, it’s essential that we have access to reliable data. The UK recognises the importance of data analysis and rankings not only to promote accountability and transparency, but also to help track trends and emerging issues. The Global Hunger Index has helped create a better picture and establish greater understanding of this crisis.

But, more data is needed. We need to strengthen the quality of data on hunger and malnutrition. For us to be successful in our efforts to eradicate hunger, we need better information on who is hungry, when, where and crucially why. We need it faster. We need to reveal and tackle where the problems are the worst. We need commitment from everyone, including from responsible governments, donors, implementing agencies, and academic experts. We all need to be more accountable for the action we have taken and ensure that our deployment of resources is effective.

The UK Government is committed to helping end hunger and malnutrition. We believe that this ambitious goal can be achieved by working in close partnership with countries, with the private sector, with multilateral organisations and with NGOs. Organisations like Concern, the International Food Policy Research Institute and German Agro Action have a vital role to play in helping us achieve this goal.

So I am very pleased to reiterate my endorsement of and support for all you are doing, and to give my full endorsement to the Global Hunger Index. And with a metaphoric ribbon, consider yourself duly launched!