Although the last decade saw great progress in reducing world poverty, the global recession has threatened recent gains by slowing global economic growth and reducing promises of aid among many international aid donors. Andrew Mitchell, the newly appointed UK Secretary of State for International Development, visited Carnegie to discuss his government’s response to current challenges in development and his agenda for the future. Carnegie’s Thomas Carothers moderated.

Prioritizing Development

The UK government has maintained a significant investment in international development, in spite of the recession:

• Protected from Austerity Measures: Although the UK government has adopted significant austerity measures in response to the recession, development assistance is one of only two areas that have been protected from budget reductions, Mitchel explained.
   
• Public Support: Mitchell explained that the decision to isolate development assistance from the austerity measures was due to the strong public support for aid, both as a moral commitment and a national interest. Assistance has become an issue on which all three major parties agree.
   
• Development and National Security: Reflecting this governmental priority, Mitchell noted that the Secretary of State for International Development is a cabinet level position and has a seat on the newly established national security council. He explained that the UK has sought to ensure that defense, diplomacy, and development are well balanced and mutually support national priorities.
   
• A Legal Guarantee: In pursuit of ensuring this balance between defense, diplomacy, and development, Mitchell announced that his government will seek to legally guarantee that 0.7% of GDP be dedicated to development assistance.

Accountability and Transparency

The Department for International Development (DFID) will strongly pursue an agenda based on accountability, transparency, and value for money, declared Mitchell. He noted that the UK recently launched a new initiative to make all of its aid transparent to its own citizens and to the world. As part of that effort, an independent institution is being set up to evaluate the impact of all UK development aid. In an effort to focus on aid effectiveness, Mitchell stated that DFID will emphasize project outcomes and outputs instead of inputs alone.

A Focus on Women

DFID will be putting women, and maternal health in particular, at the center of its efforts and will urge all countries to sign a commitment to protect maternal health at the upcoming UN meeting, Mitchell announced. He noted the following statistics:

• Every year, 20 million women seek unsafe abortions; over 70,000 annually die.
   
• 250,000,000 women want contraception, but do not have access.
   
• Improving access to contraception would limit unwanted pregnancies by 53 million a year.

Mitchell also argued that educating girls is the key to helping them avoid poor health and exploitation later in life. He stated that greater social and political rights for women can derive from economically empowering women.