THE UK GOVERNMENTWILL INCREASE ITS AID SPENDING IN ZAMBIA BY 15% OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS

THE UK GOVERNMENT, THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (DFID), WILL INCREASE ITS AID SPENDING IN ZAMBIA BY 15% OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.

THE COUNTRY IS AMONG 27 COUNTRIES AROUND THE GLOBE WHICH WILL BENEFIT FROM THE BRITISH AID IN THE COMING YEARS THAT AIMS TO ERADICATE POVERTY AND IMPROVE LIVING STANDARDS OF THE POOR PEOPLE.

THE BRITISH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY ANDREW MITCHELL ANNOUNCED THAT THE KEY OUTCOMES OF TWO AID REVIEWS AND SET OUT THE RESULTS THAT UK AID WILL DELIVER FOR THE WORLD’S POOREST PEOPLE OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.

HE SAID THESE AMBITIOUS REVIEWS OF DFID’S COUNTRY PROGRAMMES AND FUNDING TO INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS WILL MAKE BRITAIN’S AID BUDGET MORE FOCUSED AND EFFECTIVE.

WITH REGARD TO ZAMBIA AMBITIOUS REVIEWS WILL SHIFT ITS FOCUS MORE TO HELPING RURAL ZAMBIANS IN THREE BROAD AREAS OVER THE COMING YEARS.

AND THE BRITISH HIGH COMMISSIONER TO ZAMBIA  TOM CARTER, SAYS HIS GOVERNMENT WILL CONTINUE TO HELP ZAMBIA EXPAND ITS RESOURCE BASE AND WORK WITH GOVERNMENT TO USE THIS TO DELIVER BETTER SERVICES, WITH A PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON TACKLING CORRUPTION AND WASTE, AND INCREASING TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR ITS CITIZENS.

AT THE SAME TIME, IT WILL DIRECTLY ADDRESS THE MOST OFF-TRACK MDGS THROUGH A COMBINATION OF CASH TRANSFERS, MATERNAL MORTALITY INTERVENTIONS AND PROGRAMMES TO IMPROVE SANITATION AND HYGIENE. FINALLY THE AID WILL WORK TO REMOVE THE BARRIERS TO WEALTH CREATION AND INVESTMENT ESPECIALLY IN RURAL AREAS SO THAT ZAMBIA HAS A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE BEYOND AID.

MR CARTER ADDED THAT ZAMBIA MAY ALSO BENEFIT FROM REGIONAL FUNDING AROUND ITS INTEGRATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE ACTIVITIES.

AND HEAD OF DFID ZAMBIA MIKE  HAMMOND SAID ZAMBIA HAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CHANGE AND IT IS THEIR BELIEF THAT WITH THE RIGHT SUPPORT AND POLICY CHOICES THERE CAN BE REAL POVERTY REDUCTION AND ZAMBIA CAN ACHIEVE ITS VISION TO BECOME A PROSPEROUS MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRY BY 2030.

THE OTHER COUNTRIES TO BENEFIT FROM THE UK AID PROGRAMME ARE AFGHANISTAN, BANGLADESH, BURMA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, ETHIOPIA, GHANA, INDIA, KENYA, KYRGYZSTAN, LIBERIA, MALAWI, MOZAMBIQUE, NEPAL, NIGERIA, OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES,  RWANDA, SIERRA LEONE, SOMALIA, SOUTH AFRICA, SUDAN, TAJIKISTAN, TANZANIA, UGANDA, YEMEN, PAKISTAN AND ZIMBABWE.
HOWEVER, THE UK’S BILATERAL PROGRAMMES IN ANGOLA, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, BURUNDI, CAMEROON, CAMBODIA, CHINA, GAMBIA, INDONESIA, IRAQ, KOSOVO, LESOTHO, MOLDOVA, NIGER, RUSSIA, SERBIA AND VIETNAM WILL COME TO AN END.
SOME WILL CLOSE IMMEDIATELY; OTHERS WILL CLOSE OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS AS THE COUNTRIES GRADUATE FROM UK AID.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT FOLLOWS A MAJOR REVIEW OF ALL BRITISH AID AROUND THE WORLD AND THIS WILL RE-ORIENTATE THE FOCUS OF DFID PROGRAMMES AND PROJECTS SO THAT THEY DELIVER THE GREATEST IMPACT ON POVERTY REDUCTION.

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