One World Conservatism

Too often aid doesn't make it to the people who need it and doesn't make a difference. We'll try a new approach.

The scale of poverty around the world is an affront to our common humanity, and a direct threat to Britain's national interest.

That's why the Conservative Party has pledged, by 2013, to meet the UN target of spending 0.7% of national income as aid.

But Britain's generosity must be combined with a tough new approach to getting value for money from our aid. We need to make sure every penny does the most good possible.

That's why a Conservative Government will:

• Set up an Independent Aid Watchdog to scrutinise the impact and outcomes of British aid
• Move towards Results-Based Aid, where money is handed to governments only once development results have been achieved - rather than giving all the money up front based on promises that it will be spent well
• Focus our aid on the countries where it will make the biggest difference
• Spend £500 million a year to save lives by tackling malaria
• Empower people in poor countries by giving them more control over how aid is spent
• Strengthen public support for aid by giving British people a vote over where and how some of their aid is spent
• Re-emphasise wealth creation through business development and trade

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Tackling world poverty is a task for everyone - individuals, charities, businesses - not just governments.

These websites help link people in Britian directly to communities in developing countries:

Global Giving - enables individuals and companies to find and support high-impact, grassroots social and economic development projects around the world.

Kiva - the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe.

Other useful websites:

Millennium Development Goals (United Nations)

International Initiative for Impact Evaluation

BOND (British Overseas NGOs for Development) – the membership body for UK NGOs working on international development

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Voices of the Poor (World Bank)

United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009, Copenhagen