Farah Nazeer, Deputy Director of Advocacy at ActionAid UK, responds to the report that the Department for International Development will not be merged into the Foreign Office as part of Whitehall reforms.
Responding to the reports that the Department for International Development will not be merged into the Foreign Office as part of Whitehall reforms, Farah Nazeer, Deputy Director of Advocacy at ActionAid UK says:
“This decision is so important for those struggling to survive climate change, poverty and disease – especially women and girls. A merger would have seen aid diverted away from DFID’s life changing work such as helping women to protect their families from Ebola and providing aid for women and girls following the world’s worst disasters, like Cyclone Idai.
“We know there is public support for the aid the UK delivers through DFID – in just over three weeks, over 45,000 people have signed petitions calling on the Prime Minister Boris Johnson not to merge the department with the Foreign Office. At a critical time when disasters are becoming more and more frequent, this decision sends an important message to the rest of the world – that the UK stands with those most in need.”
Add your name to the petition by ActionAid and 38 Degrees here.