World news story

Annual results of Britain's international development investment

UK investment in overseas development is saving lives, creating jobs, building economies to create a safer and prosperous world.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

In the last year DFID has lifted 258,000 men, women and children in Bangladesh out of extreme poverty through direct transfers of assets, like livestock, and training to help them set up viable businesses. DFID’s Annual Report and Account for 2012-2013 recently published, shows that UK investment in overseas development is saving lives, creating jobs, building economies and ultimately helping create a safer and more prosperous world.

With 2 years left to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the report also reflects the department’s priorities as we approach that milestone. Looking ahead to the coming years, there will be an even greater focus on 3 key areas.

  • Girls and women: no country can properly develop if half of its population is being left
    behind.
  • Economic development: we want to end aid dependency through jobs.
  • Humanitarian support: DFID’s first responsibility will always be to save lives under imminent threat.

DFID-Bangladesh Country Representative Sarah Cooke said, ‘We are committed to Bangladesh’s development and ambition of achieving middle income status within the next decade. UK investment in the last year has helped transform many lives for the better. We monitor closely the performance of all programmes and make appropriate adjustments to ensure every pound is well spent.’

In the last year, in Bangladesh, DFID has:

  • Provided 658,000 poor people with access to clean drinking water
  • Provided 1.3 million poor people with access to adequate sanitation
  • Provided support to enable the Government to register an additional 280,000 tax payers
  • Developed early warning systems for floods and cyclones, covering 24 million people
  • Provided 546,000 extreme poor people with direct cash transfers
  • Supported 120,000 babies to be delivered with the help of nurses, midwives and doctors
  • Provided nutrition support to 207,000 children under 5 and pregnant women
  • Provided modern methods of family planning to 131,000 additional women
  • Supported more than 800,000 children each year in primary education
  • Helped 1.4 million farmers to raise their collective income by over $127 million over the course of several years of market development and financial services programmes

Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening said, ‘What happens across the world matters more to us than ever before and the last year has been an important one for international development. UK investment overseas has transformed the lives of millions for the better and, by investing in jobs, opportunities and peace, we have moved one step closer to ending aid dependency and creating the world we strive for.’

A drive for even greater transparency in the UK’s overseas development is also highlighted by the report, which sets out how DFID has ensured value for money and effectiveness in its work. Over the last year the department has introduced tighter ministerial control over spending decisions, demanded better value from its suppliers and introduced tough new anti-corruption and counter fraud strategies.

Notes to editors

For detail report please visits the links below:

  • https://www.gov.uk/government/news/annual-results-of-britains-international-development-investment
  • https://www.gov.uk/government/world/bangladesh
  • https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/208691/Bangladesh-summary.pdf
Published 4 July 2013