Campaign Responses

DFID welcomes the work of civil society groups in inspiring the public to lobby on behalf of developing countries. Last year, we received over 90,000 letters, emails and petition signatures from the public.

As we receive such a large volume of correspondence in connection with these campaigns, we may not acknowledge all of them or send individual responses. However, all such representations will be taken into account when considering the issues concerned and we will ensure that both the public and civil society groups are informed of DFID’s views and decisions on these issues.

Our responses to some current campaigns are given below: 

Response on Stop AIDS Campaign to “Save the Universal Access Promise”

June 2008

The UK Government’s updated seven-year AIDS strategy “Achieving Universal Access – the UK Government’s strategy for halting and reversing the spread of HIV in the developing world” (4 mb) was launched on 2 June and is now available.

Read the full Stop AIDS campaign response

Response on Christian Solidarity Worldwide “Change for Burma” Campaign

June 2008

The UK Government’s overall contribution to the relief effort now stands at £27.5 million, delivered though the UN, the Red Cross, and NGOs experiences in humanitarian crises in Burma.

Read the full Change for Burma campaign response

Response on World Vision’s “UK must fulfil its G8 promises” campaign

June 2008

At the Gleneagles Summit in 2005, the G8 committed to work with other donors to increase global official development assistance (ODA) by $50 billion, to $130 billion by 2010. The UK is leading by example. In the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review the UK set out how we plan to reach an ODA/GNI ratio of 0.56% by 2010, and we are on track to reach 0.7% by 2013, two years ahead of the EU target date.

Read the full World Vision's campaign response

Response on UNICEF UK’s “Born Free from HIV” campaign

June 2008

The UK is fully committed to Universal Access to comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment, care and support and worked hard to ensure that this commitment was endorsed by the international community.

Read the full UNICEF UK's campaign response

Response on Concern Worldwide’s “Unheard Voices” campaign

May 2008

DFID’s agriculture policy addresses many of the constraints to smallholder farmers’ development. This includes: access to fertile land, fertilizer and seeds; developing and disseminating appropriate technologies; supporting markets and trade; putting in place national policies and strategies that focus on rural and agricultural growth; and ensuring farmers’ have a voice and a say in their own development.

Read the full "Unheard Voices" campaign response

Response On the “Justice for Iraq’s Refugees” Campaign

May 2008

The UK Government is committed to assisting displaced Iraqis and helping to alleviate the burden on host communities. Since 2003, the UK has committed over £149 million in humanitarian assistance for vulnerable Iraqis, including Iraqi refugees in the region. This includes £4.75 million for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) which supports internally and externally displaced Iraqis, including those in Jordan and Syria.

Read the full response on Justice for Iraq refugees campaign

Response on Traidcraft and Christian Aid's 'EPAs - Your Opportunity' campaign

April 2008

Better trade rules have the potential to help developing countries trade their way out of poverty. It is because of this that the UK believes that Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) can be good for development. Throughout these negotiations we have been pressing for EPAs which will make it easier to export goods, increase trading opportunities for African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) businesses, and promote their integration into the global economy.

Read the full EPA campaign response

Response on World Bank Funding and Conditionality

April 2008

The World Bank has come a long way in recent years in its use of conditions and the UK government has been instrumental in this change. In 2004 the Bank abolished its use of prescriptive conditionality – the practice of insisting on specific reforms. Following a review of conditionality policy in 2005, the Bank adopted the Good Practice Principles to ensure a change in practice. These Principles commit the Bank to ensure that conditions are not imposed on governments and that a one-size-fits-all approach is not taken.
 
The World Bank's use of conditions

Response on ActionAid's 'Invisible women' campaign

March 2008

Women are disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS both because of their unequal status in society and because their physiology makes them more vulnerable to HIV infection. Many women and girls do not have access to essential information and services, lack the social and economic power to control key aspects of their lives, are faced with violence and discrimination and carry the burden of care for those affected by AIDS, including orphans

Response on ActionAid's 'Invisible women' campaign

Response on Save the Children’s ‘Saving Children’s Lives’ campaign

March 2008

Improving the health of children (MDG 4) goes hand in hand with improving the health of their mothers (MDG 5). This is because 40% of child deaths occur in the first days after birth due to a lack of any basic maternal and newborn care. The UK therefore wants to see faster progress towards both of these goals and we seek to improve child and maternal health through our wider work on strengthening health systems to deliver better health services.

Response on 'Saving Children's Lives' Campaign

Response on World Development Movement’s ‘Stop Water Wars’ Campaign

February 2008

We recognise that changing patterns of water availability, partly as a result of climate change, will necessitate stronger regional co-operation over shared water resources. Water use underpins economic growth, is essential to food security and the livelihoods of the poor, and is a central component of any strategy for sustainable development. For these reasons, water resource management is one of the central three pillars of DFID’s forthcoming water policy paper.

Response on 'Stop Water Wars' Campaign

Jubilee Debt 'Lift the Lid on Bad Loans' Campaign

January 2008

The UK is at the forefront of debt cancellation for poor countries and international poverty reduction. We were instrumental in creating the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) in 2004 and securing G8 agreement to it at Gleneagles in 2005. It has now been fully implemented. In addition, we exceed our commitments under the HIPC Initiative, providing 100% debt cancellation to qualifying countries on all UK loans. Twenty-two countries have already had their debts cancelled in full, and ten others are receiving interim debt relief. Twelve more countries will have their debts cancelled when they reach the required standards.

"Please lift the lid on unjust debt" campaign

Last updated 20 June2008

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