World Vision - Child Health and International Aid

11.11.00pm GMT Wed 10th Mar 2010

World Vision UK are contacting parliamentary candidates to see what they think about World Vision's two key messages for the upcoming general election; child health and international aid.

Specifically World Vision UK are asking two questions:

Child Health

Q. World Vision states that almost nine million children under the age of five die every year from preventable illnesses like diarrhoea, pneumonia and malaria. These are illnesses that we can either cure or prevent with simple low cost solutions. If elected, what action will you take to stop preventable child deaths in the developing world? And what will you do to ensure that the Millennium Development Goal to reduce child deaths by two thirds is achieved by 2015?

A. Liberal Democrats will support the creation of a Global Fund for social protection to help developing countries build viable welfare systems. In addition, we will prioritise health and education programmes aimed at promoting gender equality, reducing maternal and infant mortality, and restricting the spread of major diseases such as the ones mentioned, as well as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

International Aid

Q. In the 1970s world leaders agreed to give 0.7% of their countries' national income as aid to alleviate global poverty. 40 years on from the original promise we're still not there! If elected, would you support putting the commitment to spend 0.7% of national income on international development aid into law, making it harder for future governments to cut aid spending?

A. Liberal Democrats were the first party to commit to reaching the 0.7% target on aid spending and we would meet this target by 2013. We support the introduction of legislation to enshrine this target in law. We remain committed to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), and will push the international community to redouble its efforts at the MDG review summit in September, particularly on the goals which have seen least progress - those on reducing infant and maternal mortality. We will hold our G8 counterparts to the aid pledges they made at Gleneagles in 2005, including on the 0.7% target.

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World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice.

For more see http://www.worldvision.org.uk/