On Wednesday, the Chancellor of the Exchequer unveiled a Spending Review that included a reduction in aid spending from 0.7 per cent to 0.5 per cent of GNI. More than the deep financial cut – around £4bn – the move marked an attack on a commitment enshrined in the International Development Act, a piece of bipartisan legislation underpinning the UK’s role as a global leader on development.
At a time when child poverty and malnutrition rates are soaring, out of school numbers are rising, and already inadequate safety nets are fraying, we are stepping back when we should have been stepping up. With the UK set to host the G7 and a climate change conference (CoP) next year, the Spending Review was an opportunity to demonstrate an intent to provide leadership. That opportunity has been squandered.
Parliament was told that the 0.7 per cent commitment is ‘difficult to justify’ to the UK public. Given the compassion and generosity I see the UK public demonstrating whenever there is a humanitarian emergency, I believe the Chancellor is tarnishing the public with political calculus. But whatever the case, we need to start organising for the restoration of the 0.7 per cent commitment. We will also continue to urge the government to do the right thing and maintain support for families on Universal Credit.
There are two important lessons I draw from this lost battle.
First, as development charities we need to build a stronger and deeper support base in the UK public. That is going to take investment in organising – and a willingness to act collaboratively that is not always present. Second, now more than ever we need coalitions that bridge the great development and environmental challenges. This is the defining decade for a just transition on climate change and for delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals. We have a government that is standing in the way of progress, but governments can be moved by public action.
There is no question in my mind that the government’s action will place vulnerable lives at risk and rob children of opportunities for education. If there is any comfort to be drawn from this episode it is the breadth and depth of the coalition that emerged to defend aid – huge thanks to all of you.
In more positive news, the results of the US election lifted a weight from America and the world.
The Biden Administration will bring together leaders with a proven track record and commitment on climate and international cooperation. Just as important, it will mark the end of a period of incivility in political discourse that served nobody’s interest, other than those seeking to erode trust, fuel prejudice, and weaken international cooperation. Our colleagues in the US are working closely with the Biden transition team to ensure that child rights figure prominently on their agenda.
With COVID-19 dominating news cycles many of the issues we work on at SCUK risk getting pushed to the margins. Last month we published Covid’s Kids: Repaying our debt to the Covid Generation, which highlights that policy makers around the world have focused on the immediate public health threats, most of which are borne by adults; but that it is children who will carry the scars of rising poverty, worsening malnutrition, and lost opportunities for learning.
This week we launched in Parliament a new report documenting the scale of death and injury suffered by children during armed conflicts. Every day for the past decade over 25 children suffered death or injury because of armed conflict – and the numbers are rising. Many of these deaths and injuries result from the indiscriminate use of high explosive ordinances in urban areas, and we are trying to get agreement on a political declaration aimed at addressing this problem.
Behind every statistic on children affected by war is a human story of suffering, trauma, and loss.
This is reflected in a Children in the Shadow of War photography study we worked on with The Times to mark World Children’s Day. The stories behind these pictures provide a reminder of what the struggle for child rights and inter-generational justice is about.
Last week I read Barack Obama’s first-term memoir A Promised Land. It’s a great read. It includes a throwaway remark about his admiration for David Cameron’s ability to enshrine the 0.7 per cent aid commitment in legislation. That gives us an insight into how President-elect Biden may be viewing the abandonment of the commitment ahead of the G7 and a critical year for international cooperation. Hopefully, he will add his voice to the many others calling on the UK to maintain its position as a development superpower.
Finally, to end on an uplifting note, do watch this lovely Global Coronavirus Poem written by children around the world under lockdown.
