World Poverty (Hansard, 28 February 2002)

§ Ruth Kelly

In recent decades, global development progress has taken place at historically unprecedented rates. Over the last 40 years life expectancy at birth in developing countries has increased by a remarkable 20 years. Over the past 30 years, the illiteracy rate in the1434W developing world has been cut by nearly half, from 47 per cent. to 25 per cent. of all adults. The number of people subsisting on less than $1 per day rose steadily for nearly two centuries, but over the past 20 years it has begun to fall. Thanks to better economic policies in many countries—most importantly in China and India—the number of poor people worldwide has fallen by up to 200 million, even as the world's population rose by 1.6 billion since 1980.

But progress has not been even. Sub-Saharan Africa saw no increase in its per capita incomes between 1965 and 1999, even with improved performance in the late 1990s. Despite progress in education and health indicators, the AIDS epidemic has sharply reversed progress on life expectancy in this region. Many of the transition economics of Eastern Europe and Central Asia suffered deep declines in living standards and sharp rises in inequality during the 1990s.

The UK fully supports the Millennium Development Goals agreed by the United Nations, including that by 2015: instead of 110 million children denied primary education, every child will have the chance of schooling; instead of seven million avoidable deaths each year from preventable diseases, child mortality will be reduced by two thirds; and instead of one billion living in absolute poverty, the proportion of people living in poverty will be halved by 2015.

These are challenging targets. But with the right policies in developing countries and developed countries, supported by the right amount and effective use of resources, most of the goals are achievable. For globalisation to be managed well, we need effective and transparent global institutions which address the challenges in the poorest countries. Trade, investment and development assistance are essential building blocks for poverty reduction.

The Government have increased the budget of the Department for International Development (DfID) to £3.6 billion—a 45 per cent. increase in real terms between 1997–98 and 2003–04. We will significantly raise the amount of our development aid, and also raise its share in national income, in our next spending round covering the years up to 2005–06. The Government are also promoting a significant increase in development aid from all donor countries and international institutions to build capacity and address the long-term causes of poverty in the poorest countries. The Government have proposed an International Development Trust Fund to pool contributions and build on the work of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the regional development banks.