§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to encourage the growth of non-profit and voluntary public interest organisations in developing countries [77708]
§ Clare ShortOur commitment to strengthen the voices of civil society in developing countries was set out in the 1997 white paper "Eliminating World Poverty—Challenge for the 21st Century" and the 2000 White Paper "Making Globalisation work for the poor". We are now engaging directly with a wide range of civil society organisations in developing countries, to strengthen and build their capacity to help poor and excluded people to organise and get their voices heard.
338WA significant number of DfID country programmes have developed programmes to help civil society to fulfil their role. Examples of larger programmes include:
Programme Country Value Poorest area civil society programme PACS India £27 M Human rights & governance programme HUGO Bangladesh £16.5 M Civil Society and Poverty Programme Tanzania £6.84 M Strengthening capacities for transformation SCAPE South Africa £4.15 M Through rights to needs for marginalised Malawians TRANSFORM Malawi £3.5 M There is also an important role for UK civil society in strengthening civil society capacity within developing countries. The main channel of support to UK groups is through the Civil Society Challenge Fund which spends some £10 million a year. The aim is to support initiatives, implemented through an effective partnership with a developing country civil society organisation, which strengthens the capacity of that organisation to engage in local, national and international decision-making processes.