(DFID) World Trade Week UK - defending open trade

An early-warning system to help guard against nations turning to protectionist policies during the global recession is launched today as part of the UK Government's ongoing commitment to open trade.

Speaking at an international conference to mark the start of the first-ever World Trade Week UK, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson and International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said that defending open trade remained the most powerful means of rebuilding global prosperity and fighting global poverty.

Lord Mandelson underlined the UK's commitment to keep global trade flowing as he announced that the UK is co-financing a new independent anti-protectionism watchdog. Global Trade Alert will unite a worldwide network of think tanks to provide governments with independent analysis of trade-distorting policies. It will produce evidence of the damage protectionist policies are doing and advise on the least protectionist ways to provide support and stability to economies through the downturn.

Douglas Alexander demonstrated the UK Government's determination that the poorest countries should be assisted in the global economic downturn as he announced that funding for Aid for Trade has increased to £800 million - an increase of 60 per cent since 2005.

Aid for Trade funding has been spent delivering a range of new projects, such as the North South Corridor which is helping to improve transport and trading links across eight African countries by upgrading roads and improving border crossings.

Lord Mandelson said:

"Calls for protection from imports are always made most loudly during times of recession.

"New barriers to global trade are a sure-fire way to make the global recession longer and more painful that it might otherwise be. Now more than ever, we need to stand firm and defend open trade.

"The Global Trade Alert will complement the work of the World Trade Organisation and others on behalf of the G20, as well as advocating the importance of free trade."

Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander said:

"An economic downturn hits the world's poorest people the hardest and it's therefore more important than ever that we keep international trade flowing at this time.

"World Trade Week UK is an important opportunity to demonstrate how vital trade is in helping people in developing countries to earn their way out of poverty.

"Aid for Trade means that we can help many more people across Africa to have a better opportunity to make a living through trade by improving access to markets, upgrading transport and infrastructure and making borders more efficient."

The Global Trade Alert will complement the World Trade Organisation's G20 commitment to monitor protectionism by providing real-time alerts. The website will monitor not just tariff barriers - which are heavily constrained by WTO rules - but non-tariff barriers and national crisis measures adopted by countries in response to the downturn.

(DFID) Swift UK response to un appeal for Pakistan

The UK has given an additional £10 million to help over 2,000,000 people displaced by the fighting in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. This is in immediate response to an urgent UN Appeal for humanitarian assistance for those fleeing the unrest in Pakistan, announced Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander today.

The new commitment brings the UK's contribution to addressing the humanitarian situation in Pakistan to £22m. The £10 million will be distributed through the UN to aid agencies working in NWFP. They will provide food, water emergency shelter and other critical humanitarian help to those most in need.

Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander said:

"The UK is deeply concerned for the wellbeing of over two million people displaced by this conflict. A mass movement of people of this scale poses huge humanitarian challenges. The aid agencies on the ground are doing heroic work under extremely difficult conditions and we are determined to support their efforts. This extra money will help the UN manage a coordinated and effective international response to this crisis to allow those affected by the fighting take the first steps towards rebuilding their lives.

"The UK stands ready to assist the Government of Pakistan to combat the shared threat of violent extremism and we remain strongly committed to our partnership with the people of Pakistan."

DFID is providing £665 million of assistance to Pakistan from 2009 to 2013. By 2011, it will be the UK's second largest development programme worldwide. We are committing £250 million over five years to help put more children into school, improve teaching and provide the skills young people need to get jobs.

DfID response to ICRC announcement on aid access to Sri Lanka

In response to the ICRC announcement that it is unable to evacuate war wounded to safety or provide aid to the 50,000 civilians trapped in the conflict zone of Sri Lanka,

Secretary of State for International Development, Douglas Alexander, said:

"I am utterly appalled that the ICRC is no longer able to continue its operations in northern Sri Lanka.

"Since September last year, the ICRC has been the only humanitarian agency allowed to work in the conflict zone, and now even this lifeline has been denied to more than 50,000 people.

"Over the last four months alone, the ICRC has evacuated by ship over 14,000 sick and wounded people. Denying this life-saving evacuation and medical treatment is a fundamental violation of International Humanitarian Law.

"This deplorable situation rightly brings international condemnation of both parties to the conflict. There is simply no justification for allowing such needless suffering.

"The Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE must immediately guarantee safe access to the ICRC to restart their life-saving work."

(DFID) New financial boost for businesses in developing countries from the UK Government

Businesses in developing countries are struggling to survive due to the economic downturn and need urgent financial support, said Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander.

At the London Summit, world leaders are working to stabilise financial markets and help families and businesses across the world to get through the recession.

And the UK Government today (THURS) intends to take practical action to support firms across the globe, helping stimulate trade in developing countries and ensuring sustainable growth.

This will be done through the World Bank's new initiative called the Global Trade Liquidity Programme (GTLP) set up to support small and medium businesses by helping address the trade finance shortage in developing countries through international banks.

The UK Government, through its development finance institution CDC, intends to make a contribution of up to £300m to the GTLP.

Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander said: "Private sector businesses are an essential engine of growth and play a vital role in stimulating global trade, which provides a lifeline to millions of people across the globe.

"People in developing countries have been disproportionately hard-hit by the economic crisis. This money will help firms keep going during the difficult climate and help to protect and create jobs.

"This is not an initiative to help make commercial banks richer.

Participating banks must all commit to using the money to support trade in developing countries. In the first phase, this will include Kenya, Angola, Ghana, Nigeria, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Seychelles and Zambia." The proposed sum alone could help fund beween £2bn and £3bn of trade over the next two years, helping small and medium firms to import and export products. The UK money will be invested in the GTLP on a loan basis.

The shortage in trade finance, due to the current economic crisis, is a significant threat to world trade - already projected to decline by about nine per cent this year. The World Trade Organisation has suggested there could be a global shortfall of between $100bn and $300bn.

(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.

(DFID) A matter of life and death for Kenya's mums but a mothers' day lie-in for UK

A new YouGov poll reveals that 52% of women in Britain were 'most worried' about receiving pain relief during childbirth, and 50% said they were concerned about getting to the hospital on time.

For pregnant women in Nyanza Province, just getting to the hospital can pose huge problems, with many needing to walk for more than an hour whilst in labour to get medical care at the local hospital.

In Kenya though, with DFID's assistance and the help of the British taxpayer, innovative solutions are being found to local problems, such as paying for a motorbike ambulance which is helping to save lives in a rural area.

A motorbike-ambulance operates in Nyanza Province and is fitted with a sidecar, which is used to transport women to their nearest maternity hospital. This 200cc motorbike-ambulance, which is specially built for negotiating rough rural terrain, has a specially constructed padded sidecar, in which a patient can lie down safely strapped in. The motorbike-ambulance collects women from the lakeside villages, meaning mum and baby have a much better chance of survival.

Here in Britain, 42% of Mums are worried about the financial pressures of raising a child. In Kenya, money worries after the birth are much less of an issue (20%); instead 30 per cent of new mums in Nyanza province worry about not being able to easily access good maternity care.

One penny in every UK tax pound goes towards helping the poorest countries and funds projects such as DFID's Essential Health Services programme, providing pre-natal and postnatal care for mothers and babies in Nyanza Province. A health centre building is currently being refurbished as a maternity wing and is due to open in May.

Douglas Alexander, International Development Secretary said:
"Women's health is critical to a country's future. When a mother dies in childbirth everyone suffers - her child, her family and her community.
"That's why DFID makes improving maternal health in developing countries such a priority - from training for nurse-midwives, as I saw for myself in Kisumu in Kenya, to funding clinics, ambulances, immunisation programmes and health education."

Mary Atieno, 24, from Gwassa in Nyanza Province, is due to have her child on Mother's Day. She is considering naming her baby Doreen - after the senior midwife at Magunga. Mrs Atieno says:

"I'm not worried now about any problems - I'll come to the hospital and anything can be sorted out. The sister knows how to make everything all right."

Judith Awuma, 22, is attending the post-natal clinic with her six week old son, Joseph:

"We came to hospital because we know it's safer - my grandmother wanted me to stay in the village, but I said no. You can be helped in the hospital if there are complications. It was my first pregnancy, and I wanted everything to go right."

Watch the DFID film

(DFID) Young people to advise Ministers and world leaders on fight against global poverty

Fifty young people from across the UK have been invited by the Department for International Development (DFID) to help shape government policy to eliminate world poverty and share their views with world leaders ahead of the London Summit next month.

The DFID Youth Summit on Friday, 20 March will see 16-24 year olds from youth boards of charities and government departments gather in London to discuss how conflict, climate change and the economic crisis can be tackled to reduce global poverty. Their views will be presented to the Government and help inform the contents of DFID's new policy on the future of international development. The views of the young people will also form part of a global Youth Communique for the London Summit on 2 April which will be shared with every G20 country delegation present.

Douglas Alexander, International Development Secretary, said:

"We live in an interconnected world. What happens here in the UK has an effect on the developing world and vice versa. Tackling climate change, reducing conflict, rebuilding the global economy - all are global problems that need global solutions.

"Young people are part of these solutions. I want to hear young people's views about what world leaders should do at the G20 London Summit, and what our priorities should be for our new White Paper that lays out our strategy for fighting world poverty."

The global economic downturn is hitting the poorest hardest. By the end of this year, the effects of the global downturn could force as many as 46 million people into extreme poverty.

The Summit, organised by the DFID Civil Society Children and Youth Network, will provide young representatives from international leading charities, such as Plan International and UNICEF, and government Youth Boards the chance to ask questions and debate each of these topics.

Ed Balls, Education Secretary, said:
"I know from visiting schools and colleges up and down the country that young people are passionate about preventing global warming, tackling poverty and preventing diseases like HIV and malaria, both in this country and all over the world.

"There are very real issues facing world leaders right now and I want young people - the future generation - to able to contribute their ideas and really make a difference. I'm delighted that this event will help them do that and I look forward to hearing what they have to say."

(DFID) London women compare themselves to Kenya's motorbike mums

With Mother's Day fast approaching and mums in London are looking forward to being given chocolates, breakfast-in-bed or homemade cards, the Department for International Development (DFID) wants to show how people in London have helped save lives in places where simply becoming a mother is fraught with danger.

Whereas mums in London are concerned about getting pain relief while giving birth or getting to the hospital on time, women in Nyanza province, in Kenya, worry about their babies surviving in an area where one in five children do not live to see their fifth birthday. Figures also show that 560 women per 100,000 in Kenya (rising to 1,000 in some parts of Kenya's Nyanza province) die during pregnancy, in childbirth or postnatal period. This compares to eight per 100,000 for the UK.

A new YouGov poll, reveals that 27 per cent of women in London were 'very worried' about not being able to lose their 'baby-weight', and 40 per cent said they were concerned about the impact the patter of tiny feet would have on their finances.

For pregnant women in Nyanza Province, just getting to the hospital can pose huge problems, with many needing to walk for more than an hour whilst in labour to get medical care at the local hospital.

In Kenya though, with DFID's assistance and the help of the British taxpayer, innovative solutions are being found to local problems, such as paying for a motorbike ambulance which is helping to save lives in a rural area.

A motorbike-ambulance operates in Nyanza Province and is fitted with a sidecar, which is used to transport women to their nearest maternity hospital. This 200cc motorbike-ambulance, which is specially built for negotiating rough rural terrain, has a specially constructed padded sidecar, in which a patient can lie down safely strapped in. The motorbike-ambulance collects women from the lakeside villages, meaning mum and baby have a much better chance of survival.

Financial worries after the birth are much less of an issue than the fact that 30 per cent of new mums in Nyanza province worry about not being able to easily access good maternity care.

One penny in every UK tax pound goes towards helping the poorest countries and funds projects such as DFID's Essential Health Services programme, providing pre-natal and postnatal care for mothers and babies in Nyanza Province. A health centre building is currently being refurbished as a maternity wing and is due to open in May.

Douglas Alexander, International Development Secretary said:

"Women's health is critical to a country's future. When a mother dies in childbirth everyone suffers - her child, her family and her community.

"That's why DFID makes improving maternal health in developing countries such a priority - from training for nurse-midwives, as I saw for myself in Kisumu in Kenya, to funding clinics, ambulances, immunisation programmes and health education."

Mary Atieno, 24, from Gwassa in Nyanza Province, is due to have her child on Mother's Day. She is considering naming her baby Doreen - after the senior midwife at Magunga. Mrs Atieno says:

"I'm not worried now about any problems - I'll come to the hospital and anything can be sorted out. The sister knows how to make everything all right."

Judith Awuma, 22, is attending the post-natal clinic with her six week old son, Joseph:

"We came to hospital because we know it's safer - my grandmother wanted me to stay in the village, but I said no. You can be helped in the hospital if there are complications. It was my first pregnancy, and I wanted everything to go right."

Brown says UK will increase overseas aid despite deficit.

Gordon Brown yesterday promised that Britain would keep its pledge to raise its overseas development aid budget to an internationally agreed target of 0.7 percent of national income in spite of the growing budget deficit.

Britain, along with other G8 countries, promised at the Gleneagles summit in 2005 to raise aid spending to that 0.7 percent level by 2013. The prime minister said the UK government was working with its partners in the G20 and at the World Bank to set up a new fund specifically to help the world's poorest people during the downturn. He said the UK would also push to win developing nations a bigger role in international institutions, like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Brown also said the Millennium Development Goals 'must remain a central focus of our[G20] efforts.

In related news, Al Jazeera reports that Douglas Alexander, Britain's international development minister, has set out new proposals aimed at helping people in developing countries hit by the global credit crunch. The measures include an international 'rapid response' fund that would provide a safety net for the world's most vulnerable people. Alexander said the multi-billion dollar fund would be specifically targeted at certain groups, including women, children, elderly people and the disabled, with food provided for children and medical care for pregnant women.