Today’s papers, including the Telegraph, the Times, the Daily Mail and The Sun have reported on statistics published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) which show the United Kingdom (UK) met the United Nations overseas aid target in 2017.
The statistics show the United States continues to be largest net aid donor (USD 35.26bn) followed by Germany, the UK, Japan and France.
Countries which reached the UN overseas aid target of 0.7% include the UK, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Luxembourg.
2017 was an unprecedented year for catastrophic crises and UK aid saved millions of vulnerable people suffering from severe drought and starvation in Somalia, famine in South Sudan, violence in Burma and ongoing conflict in Yemen.
DFID has introduced tough reforms of its aid spending to deliver value for money, including clamping down on the risk of unethical practices by suppliers, holding aid organisations to account by tying funding to performance, introducing enhanced safeguarding standards and increasing efficiency savings.
A DFID Spokesman said:
“Our aid commitment - which is enshrined in law - increases Britain’s global influence and allows us to shape the world around us which is firmly in the UK’s national interest.
“Investing less than one percent of our national income in aid is helping tackle global challenges like disease, terrorism and conflict, and creating a safer, healthier and more prosperous world for us all.
“We are driving value for money in aid to ensure it cannot be spent better as well as saving millions of lives: immunising 80 children a minute against polio, getting food and shelter to people fleeing violence in Burma, and giving Syrian children the chance to go to school and learn.”