Bond statement in response to Secretary of State for International Development speech at the Commonwealth Development Corporation

Responding to the Secretary of State’s speech this morning, Judith Brodie, interim CEO Bond the UK’s network of International Development NGOs said:

“The NGO sector cares deeply about the difference it makes to the lives of people living in poverty around the world. This has included building stronger relationships with the private sector to boost investment and maximise impact. But the priority needs to be poverty reduction over profit and this must be demonstrated if we are to meet the SDGs.

It is also important to note that we are yet to see how the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC), the UK’s development finance institution owned by DFID, will live up to its 2017 5-year strategy and improve transparency, effectiveness and impact. We would like to know how they will meet the Secretary of State’s requirement to ensure that 0.7% is not just ‘spent well, but could not be better spent'”.

ENDS

Notes to Editor

The prime minister’s speech in Cape Town on 28 August included an announcement of an additional £4bn programme of UK investment in African economies, with the Commonwealth Development Corporation investing a further £3.5bn in African nations over the next four years.
Bond is the UK network for organisations working in international development. Bond unites and supports a diverse network of over 400 civil society organisations and allies to help eradicate global poverty, inequality and injustice.
For further information please contact Maryam Mohsin, [email protected] or 07555336029