Christian Aid has welcomed news that Anne-Marie Trevelyan has become the new Secretary of State for International Development (DFID):
Patrick Watt, Christian Aid’s Director of Policy, Public Affairs and Campaigns, said:
“We welcome the appointment of Anne-Marie Trevelyan as the new Secretary of State for the Department for International Development (DfID).
“DfID is one of the world’s most effective aid donors. We hope that she will be a powerful advocate for its continued poverty focus, and for its independence.
"We live in a world where hundreds of millions of people suffer from extreme poverty, conflict, and climate crisis. The need for the UK to demonstrate leadership in confronting these challenges is as urgent as ever.
“The new Secretary of State needs to work with other departments to ensure a cross-Whitehall, strategic approach to development, that measures success in terms of the impact on poverty.
“It is critically important that DFID retains a seat at the Cabinet table, and continues to be the main channel for UK aid. The watchdog set up to scrutinise aid (the Independent Commission for Aid Impact) shows that DFID gives much better value for money than the aid channelled through other parts of government.
“We hope that today’s announcement signals a clear commitment to keeping DfID as an independent department, and isn’t a stay of execution. Dismantling DfID would be a backward step that ignores the lessons of aid scandals of the 1980s and ‘90s, such as the Pergau dam, in which hundreds of millions of pounds of UK aid were linked to a major arms deal.
“As one of the world’s richest nations it is unquestionably right that we should stand by the 0.7% aid target agreed at the UN. We hope that Ms Trevelyan will join the fight to keep Britain’s promises to the world’s poorest people.”
“It is critically important that DFID retains a seat at the Cabinet table, and continues to be the main channel for UK aid. The watchdog set up to scrutinise aid (the Independent Commission for Aid Impact) shows that DFID gives much better value for money than the aid channelled through other parts of government.
“We hope that today’s announcement signals a clear commitment to keeping DfID as an independent department, and isn’t a stay of execution. Dismantling DfID would be a backward step that ignores the lessons of aid scandals of the 1980s and ‘90s, such as the Pergau dam, in which hundreds of millions of pounds of UK aid were linked to a major arms deal.
“As one of the world’s richest nations it is unquestionably right that we should stand by the 0.7% aid target agreed at the UN. We hope that Ms Trevelyan will join the fight to keep Britain’s promises to the world’s poorest people.”
