I know how global aid works. Here’s how Britain can do the right thing – and make its money count | David Miliband

The politics of aid may be toxic, but the UK must realise that supporting the world’s poorest people is both a moral and pragmatic thing to doDavid Miliband is president and CEO of the International Rescue CommitteeIn more than 10 years working in the aid sector, I have seen extraordinary innovations, from childhood education programmes for refugee children, to AI-driven flood warnings that alert farmers in some of the most vulnerable places on earth. Many of the initiatives I’ve seen are remarkably impactful and deliver serious value for money: it costs the International Rescue Committee (IRC) just £3 ($4) to deliver a life-saving vaccine dose in the midst of a conflict in east Africa, for example.The politics surrounding international aid, however, are increasingly toxic. The UK’s Department for International Development and now the US equivalent, USAID, have been dismantled, despite the British public being more than twice as likely to say that aid has a positive rather than negative impact. Denmark has stuck to the UN target of spending 0.7% of its national income on overseas development, yet it is an exception rather than a norm among European nations. The UK government now needs to answer a number of hard questions about aid: what is it for, how should it be delivered, and who should pay for it?David Miliband is president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee Continue reading...

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