§ 8. Mr. PondTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures her Department is taking to help alleviate child poverty; and if she will make a statement. [152216]
§ Clare ShortThe Chancellor of the Exchequer and I are determined to do all we can to mobilise the international system to meet the International Development Targets by 2015 in order that today's poor children do not become the parents of larger numbers of children living in extreme poverty in the next generation. The targets include the aim of lifting one billion people out of extreme poverty, all children in primary schools, and infant and child mortality reduced by two thirds by 2015.
These targets are achievable but require a greater and more united international effort. To this end the Chancellor and I hosted a conference in London on February 26 at which all the international institutions were represented. A copy of the commitments made at the conference is available in the Library of the House.