1 IN 3 BRITISH ADULTS WANT TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE IN 2018 – SAVE THE CHILDREN SURVEY REVEALS
Thursday 29 December 2017: Save the Children reveals today more than 1 in 3 (35%) British adults want to help make the world a better place in 2018 according to a survey conducted by YouGov.
The nationwide survey comes after a difficult year. Across the world, 2017 has seen conflict and brutal wars devastate lives in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, the threat of famine has left hundreds of thousands of lives at risk in East Africa, and countless atrocities have been reported from those fleeing Rakhine state in Myanmar resulting in the world’s fastest growing refugee crisis. Here at home in Britain, there have been with multiple terrorist attacks in London and Manchester.
It therefore comes as no surprise that 46% (22.4m) of British adults think that people in the world were generally crueller in 2017 than 2016 and more than 1 in 3 (35%) of British adults said they want to help make the world a better place in 2018 as a result.
1 in 3 British adults who felt that people in the world were crueller are taking this into consideration when making their new year’s resolutions, saying that they are more likely to be kinder to people (36%), sign a petition to support a good cause (35%) or donate more to charity (27%) in 2018.
Kevin Watkins, Save the Children CEO says: “Although it’s been a tough year, millions of people in the UK have donated to charities like Save the Children. Their generosity has enabled us to save lives and bring hope to children facing hunger, ill health and lost opportunities for education. That is why it is encouraging that so many Brits are pledging to do more in 2018. Alongside the British Government’s investment in helping save millions of lives, these acts of kindness from the British public will make a huge difference for the world’s most vulnerable children.”
When admitting which of their new year’s resolutions they might break, only 2% of British adults who think they will make resolutions said they would give up supporting a charity compared to nearly 1 in 5 resolution-making adults who said they would be likely to give up losing weight (23%) or exercising more (23%).
These results shouldn’t come as a surprise because the British public is one of the most generous in the world. In the past five years, Britain’s investment in immunisation has ensured 67.1 million children are now protected against preventable diseases[1] – saving 25 lives every minute, as well as helping to educate 11 million children[2] and ensuring 5.1 million babies[3] were delivered with the help of doctors, nurses or midwives.
And Britain’s commitment to international development doesn’t just save lives, it helps the world’s poorest countries stand on their own feet by strengthening their health, education and tax systems. For example, UK investment in Rwanda’s tax infrastructure led to a tripling of revenues between 1998 and 2006. This reduced its dependence on aid, whilst simultaneously doubling access to healthcare and exponentially increasing the number of children in education.[4]
ENDS
For more information kindly contact Fay Hoyland -F.Hoyland@savethechildren.org.uk / 07876032959 / 020 3763 0479 (out of hours - +44 (0)7831 650 409)
NOTES TO EDITORS
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2028 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 20th - 21st December 2017. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults