Annual results of Britain's international development investment 2014-15
Results of DFID's work promoting the interests of girls and women, building stronger economies and saving lives
Getting shelter to Iraqi families in need Photo: Tiril Skarstein, Norwegian Refugee Council
UK investment in overseas development played an increasingly vital role in protecting and promoting British interests on the global stage, while continuing to improve the lives of the world’s poorest people, International Development Secretary Justine Greening said today as the Department for International Development (DFID) published its 2014-15 Annual Report and Accounts.
DFID’s focus on achieving results and value for taxpayers’ money improves the lives of the poorest people through eliminating disease, generating jobs, creating stability and tackling the root causes of global problems such as migration – all of which are in the UK’s interests.
This year DFID has achieved the following results towards its commitments for 2011–15:
- Wealth creation – provided 68.9 million people, including 35.9 million women, with access to financial services to help them work their way out of poverty (exceeding DFID’s commitment of 50 million)
- Poverty, vulnerability, nutrition and hunger – reached 28.5 million children under 5 and pregnant women through DFID’s nutrition-relevant programmes, of whom 11.6 million were women or girls (exceeding DFID’s commitment of 20 million)
- Education – supported 11.0 million children, of whom 5.3 million were girls, in primary and lower secondary education (meeting DFID’s commitment of 11 million)
- Health – ensured that 5.1 million births took place safely with the help of nurses, midwives or doctors (exceeding DFID’s commitment of 2 million)
- Water, sanitation and hygiene – supported 62.9 million people, of whom 22.2 million were women, to access clean water, better sanitation or improved hygiene conditions through DFID’s WASH programmes (exceeding DFID’s commitment of 60 million)
- Humanitarian assistance – reached over 13 million people with emergency food assistance, including 5.5 million women or girls, through DFID support
- Governance and security – supported freer and fairer elections in 13 countries in which 162.1 million people voted (meeting DFID’s commitment of 13 countries)
- Climate change – supported 14.6 million people to cope with the effects of climate change
Some highlights of results delivered through the multilateral organisations that DFID supports include:
- In 2014 the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria distributed 87 million insecticide-treated bednets
- Between April 2014 and March 2015, the International Development Association provided 27.8 million people with access to improved water sources
- In 2014 the Asian Development Bank trained 476,000 teachers
Justine Greening said:
British people can be incredibly proud of what our investment in international development has achieved in the last year.
We have delivered lifesaving work in Sierra Leone, taken on the deadly Ebola virus at source, worked harder than ever to improve the lives of girls and women, and created the economic growth, jobs and effective tax systems that will ultimately end aid dependency.
Our work helps people lift themselves out of poverty while dealing with the root causes of global problems that affect us in the UK, such as disease, migration and terrorism. It creates the opportunities that mean no matter where someone is born, or what gender they are, they will have the chance to learn, earn and succeed.
And, in the end, as the countries we work with develop, they will become the trading partners of the future for British businesses. Everything we do is ultimately in Britain’s interests.
This year the international development community will agree the next ambitious set of goals for sustainable development. As well as demonstrating leadership and negotiating for the best outcome for the UK and the world’s poorest people, DFID will continue to increase its focus on three key areas:
- Girls and women: no country can properly develop if half of its population is being left behind.
- Economic development: we want to end aid dependency through jobs and enable growth overseas which is critical for supporting the future markets for British business.
- Humanitarian support: Continuing to lead in emergencies and save lives under imminent threat.