The Archbishop of Canterbury has urged the UK government to keep its promise to the world’s poorest people by maintaining its overseas aid commitment.
Speaking to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour this evening, the Archbishop warned against reducing spending on international development at a time when the pandemic and its effects are hitting the poorest the hardest. The Archbishop said the commitment to spending 0.7% of gross national income on international development was “one of the great moral and ethical achievements of this country, and cross-party, over the last 10 years”. “Cutting back from that when 150 million are falling into poverty around the world, and where the economic pandemic is as bad as the Covid pandemic and is killing as many people, just goes straight against the things we believe, and the things that really matter to us. “And it goes straight against our Christian heritage – the teaching of Jesus Christ that your neighbour is the one whose needs you know, who you can reach out and help. We know these needs. We’re one of the best in the world at meeting them. It’s not a moment to cut.” The Archbishop said: “They haven’t made a decision yet. So I am asking them to stick to what is in the law – 0.7% of the gross national income going to the development budget. To use our immense expertise, to use our distribution networks that come from our soft networks around the world. To use all of those to get the vaccine distributed around the world, as well as to the most needy in this country.”
He added: “Archbishop Tutu in South Africa said a promise to the poor is especially sacred. We have made these promises. They’ve been made by the government here, by the Commons and the Lords, we must keep our word. We are the kind of country that should do that.”
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