The UK committee of MPs responsible for scrutinising the Department for International Development (DFID) has published a report following its inquiry reviewing the new UK aid strategy.
It highlights concerns around the plans to increasingly involve government departments other than DFID to distribute aid and stressed the importance of retaining the principle that UK aid should be allocated to areas where it can most effectively reduce poverty.
IDS echoes the concerns made by the International Development Select Committee (IDC). IDS written evidence to the committee’s inquiry highlighted the need for a joined up approach to ODA spend across government departments to ensure they meet the high aid effectiveness and transparency standards achieved by DFID.
Definition of ‘fragile state’ questioned
The IDC Chair, Stephen Twigg MP, on announcing the report also raised concerns regarding the definition of ‘fragile state’ as referred to in the new UK aid strategy, and the fact that 50 percent of all aid money is to be spent on so called fragile states. He said “We need to understand how this term is being defined and how it will inform decisions about who should receive development assistance”.
Importance of understanding local contexts
On this issue, IDS Director Melissa Leach has raised the need for building the capacity and understanding of local contexts in fragile and conflict-affected states in order to tackle the drivers of violence and develop successful and sustainable UK interventions.
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