New research reveals true impact of giving 0.7% of national income in aid

As the Chancellor prepares to set out his spending plans in Wednesday's Budget, new research by the anti-poverty organisation ONE reveals for the first time the expected impact of the UK aid budget. The new audit of UK aid spending plans shows that UK aid will put 15.9 million children in school, protect 5.8 million mothers during childbirth and help over 9 million people overcome malnutrition in the next four years.

But these life-saving results will only be achieved if the Chancellor confirms in his Budget that the UK government will reach its target of investing 0.7% of national income in overseas aid next year.
ONE's report, Small Change: Big Difference, reveals the true impact of UK aid around the world. It is the first time researchers have analysed together all of the bilateral and multilateral spending plans set out by the Department for International Development.

Between 2011 and 2015 UK aid is expected to:

• Put 15.9 million children in school
• Provide over 80 million children with vaccines against life-threatening diseases, saving an estimated 1.4 million lives
• Help 44.9 million people participate in freer and fairer elections
• Support over 40 million people with prevention or treatment for malaria, including distributing 26.6 million bed nets
• Provide access to safe drinking water to over 17 million people
• Help 77.6 million people access formal financial services, such as bank accounts or credit, which are the basics needed to start a business
• Ensure 5.8 million births take place in a safe environment, saving the lives of over 50,000 mothers
• Provide 633,000 people with life-saving treatment for HIV
• Ensure better nutrition for 9.6 million people

Adrian Lovett, Europe Director of ONE, said:

"Britain's aid costs less than a penny in each pound of national income, and this analysis reveals for the first time just how much every penny counts. For many millions of poor people, what happens to our aid budget is a matter of life or death.

"In tough economic times, keeping our aid promise is more important than ever. No other budget achieves so much for so little. The UK is proven to spend aid effectively. It is an investment now that will save and transform lives, boost Britain's own economic prospects and bring forward the day when aid is no longer needed."

Notes to editors:

• The report Small Change: Big Difference - What UK Aid Will Achieve for the World's Poor is available to download from 00.01 Monday 19 March at www.one.org/bigdifference. Please contact Katherine Sladden on +44 7584 470 644, katherine.sladden@one.org if you would like an embargoed copy.

• Currently the UK invests £8.7 billion in overseas aid, 0.56% of national income. This is set to rise to an estimated £11.9 billion in 2013, or 0.7% of national income.

• The data reviewed in the report are drawn from Department for International Development (DFID) plans released in 2011. These plans are divided into bilateral (national and regional) and departmental (including multilateral aid) but are rarely analysed together.

• ONE is a global advocacy and campaigning organisation backed by more than 2.6 million people from around the world dedicated to fighting extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. For more information please visit www.ONE.org

For further information or for interview requests please contact Katherine Sladden, +44 7584 470 644, katherine.sladden@one.org