Deputy Prime Minister pledges to increase UK overseas aid spending
UK aid spending will increase to 0.7% of gross national income from 2013.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has used the UN summit on the Millennium Development Goals to confirm that UK aid spending will increase to 0.7% of gross national income from 2013 - doubling its spending on maternal health and child mortality in poor countries.
Mr Clegg also called on other nations to show the same level of commitment as the UK to the MDG pledges to raise living standards in the developing world.
The Deputy Prime Minister said:
Our goal is to double the number of women and children’s lives saved.
Our new commitment means we will be saving the lives of at least 50,000 women in pregnancy and childbirth, and of a quarter of a million babies - as well as enabling 10 million couples to access modern family planning.
Speaking to the UN General Assembly hall, Mr Clegg appealed to rich countries to honour their past pledges on the Millennium Development Goals.
The last decade has seen some important progress. That progress has, however, been uneven, and, on a number of our goals we remain significantly off track.
So my message to you today, from the UK Government, is this - we will keep our promises and we expect the rest of the international community to do the same.
On Thursday Mr Clegg is travelling to Washington to speak to US Vice President Joe Biden on how the coalition Government can improve social mobility in Britain.