(DFID) UK keeps up aid commitments

Secretary of State says aid more important than ever during economic downturn

New aid level figures published today by the Department for International Development show the UK is on track in its fight against poverty in developing countries.

The figures, which set out the level of aid given by the UK to developing countries during 2008, show the Government is honouring its commitment to helping the world's poorest people, who are most vulnerable during the global economic downturn.

The UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending for 2008 was £6.3bn, or 0.43 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI); an increase on 2007's £4.9bn, or 0.36 per cent. The increase reflects both a steady rise in DFID spending alongside a significant rise in other official development expenditure.

The figures show that the UK remains on course to spend 0.7% of national income on development by 2013, two years ahead of the EU target. The UK is also on target to meet its share of the commitments made by the G8 at Gleneagles in 2005 to spend an additional $50 billion in developing countries by 2010, half of it in Africa.

Commenting on today's ODA figures, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said:

"We are unfaltering in our commitment to help people living in the poorest countries. For some of those who were already living in extreme poverty, the current economic crisis has had a devastating impact."

Earlier this month, the Secretary of State warned how he feared more than 90 million people could be plunged into poverty by the end of next year because of the impact of the global economic downturn.

And he urged donor countries to follow the lead of the UK and continue to meet their aid commitments helping maintain progress towards the achievement of poverty-reduction targets including the Millennium Development Goals.

UK aid is making a real difference on-the-ground by:

* Improving maternal and child health eg by providing nearly £100m to support Pakistan's maternal, newborn and child health work from 2008/13

* Increasing access to education eg by paying the wages of 100,000 teachers in Afghanistan so that today six million children can go to school, including two million girls

* Supporting countries in the fight against HIV/AIDS eg by helping prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria with a £62m programme between 2002/08

* Improving access to clean, fresh water eg by investing £75m in Ethiopia over the next five years to increase people's access to fresh water and improved sanitation facilities

* Providing a safety net for some of the poorest in the world eg DFID's 10-year Social Protection Programme, is helping some of the poorest people in Kenya, including 30,000 orphans, with funding of more than £120m.