Up until 2020, global poverty reduction rates were reaching some of the most prosperous highs we had seen in recent times. According to The World Bank, the number of people living in extreme poverty had been declining for 3 decades. Just as Covid-19 disrupted the cycle of our everyday lives in the UK, the lives of those suffering in developing countries have also been disrupted, on an even more unprecedented level. This damage has been irreparable and has, in turn, ruined this successful downward trend.
When it comes to the current condition of global poverty struggles and our international affairs, how does our responsibility as a nation manifest?
The Official Development Assistance
The Official Development Assistance (ODA) has been defined as ‘government aid that promotes and specifically targets the economic development and welfare of developing countries.’ In 2021 the UK Government reduced the ODA from 0.7% to 0.5% of their Gross National Income (GNI) to compensate for the pressure that Covid-19 was placing on our economy. This target originated in the 70s but has been continually reaccredited over the years.
We have been sitting below the minimum target set by the UN in the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015 for 2 years now. Countries such as Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg, and Denmark have all continued to meet this target, so what did they do that we could not? This is especially concerning as the UK has a history of being a frontrunner in terms of encouraging international development, usually being one of the highest contributors to foreign aid.
I believe that it is about time that the ODA is increased to where it once stood before Covid-19. There is no room for complacency when the situation is so dire. So, positive action is key rather than accepting this lesser standard that has seemingly been settled for.
Why we should help now and not later
Increasing foreign aid provides us with indirect benefits as it secures our own future prospects, essentially becoming a long-term investment. This aid greatly assists in building these countries’ economies, and as a result, increases our exports as well. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) has found that for every £1 spent on aid, its delivered value is at least triple in the recipient regions.
Even though there is an abundance of economic and strategic benefits, foremost, the ODA should also be increased as it is morally the right thing to do; especially as here in the UK, we are in a fortunate enough position to help. With Covid-19 occurring on such a global scale, we are more intertwined in its repercussions than imaginable. We must empathise in our shared experience of loss and solitude and rally together to aid those hit the hardest, helping them escape Covid’s bitter aftertaste that still lingers in most developing countries.
This is especially dire when we consider the position of these countries before Covid-19 struck, with it now aggravating existing issues as their economies continue to suffer. In developing countries, many die from diseases that already run rampant such as TB, a very curable infectious disease and yet the 2nd leading infectious killer after Covid-19.
Covid’s repercussions
The pandemic’s scarring in the UK is no doubt vast. However, it is also true that poverty-stricken countries with unstable economies and poor infrastructure which rely on us have also been let down in the aftermath of the pandemic. We have the ability to bounce back in a much more striking time frame compared to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, which are far from returning to normal. The World Bank has released statistics showing that Sub-Saharan Africa is continuing to experience economic deceleration, expected to go from a growth rate of 3.6% in 2022 to 3.1% in 2023. This, accompanied by unprecedented rises in food instability after the war in Ukraine, should provide enough justification for us to increase our aid.
It was announced in the 2021 Autumn Budget that the reduction of the ODA would be reversed in 2024-2025 (p.1). However, a more recent update as of November 2022 is even more grave than this, with the Treasury stating that we might not see a return to the 0.7% target until 2027/28. To aggravate this further, there are rumours that overseas aid could be threatened again to reduce public spending.
As a part of the global community, we cannot afford to take these risks. So, it is better that we use our voices and act now regarding the ODA rather than a couple years down the line as currently predicted.
