We live in a deeply volatile world. How we help others has to change
TThe crisis in Iran has revealed that the international system has not kept pace with today’s challenges.
The ripples we feel from conflict, epidemics and climate change affect developing countries just as they affect the UK. These manifest themselves in higher energy and food prices, disrupted supply chains, and greater pressures on our own economic and national security.
International development has made significant progress in recent years. Extreme poverty has decreased significantly. Child deaths have fallen by more than half, and millions of people have access to services that were not available at the turn of the century. These gains are real and hard won.
However, we live in a world where trade and economic integration have ceased to be a tool of progress and turned into a weapon of geopolitical competition. The world is falling apart, conflicts are spreading. Hard power has become more dominant. Global conflicts are more common and last longer. Human needs are beyond the resources we have to respond to.
The system is not set up to handle this. It’s too slow and too fragmented. We need a new cooperation model suitable for today’s pace of change.
The UK has an important role to play with our friends and partners. That’s why we’re hosting the Global Partnerships Conference in London this week, together with our co-hosts South Africa, the British Foundation for International Investment and the Children’s Investment Fund.
This will bring together a broader group of people beyond traditional players to work together in a new way. This includes governments, businesses, technology leaders, philanthropists and international organizations to discuss the future of collaboration we need to address today’s global challenges.
It is no longer tenable to continue working the same way and expecting different results.
We bring people together for a new model of development cooperation. Able to detect risks and opportunities earlier, take action earlier and establish stronger systems.
This means people in the UK are better protected from global crises such as the conflict in Iran. This also means they see a better return on investment and also create new growth opportunities for UK businesses. It also helps reduce the pressures that drive irregular migration to the UK by supporting stability, employment and opportunities abroad.
Coalitions are at the heart of this. Scale is possible when governments, international organizations, private investors and civil society come together around common goals and share risk and accountability.
These are the coalitions and expertise that will be central to the UK’s approach to the upcoming G20 Presidency; They will promote growth and stability overseas to serve UK employees.
With the UK’s strength in global finance and world-leading technical expertise, we are well placed to bring minds together. We need to modernize because we have less money to spend.
The countries we work in are also calling for a new model. They want partnerships based on respect and shared priorities, not shaped by old hierarchies. A more effective model starts from a different place: countries and communities are in the best position to define their own priorities and lead their own development.
Central to this mission is our announcement at the new “Communities of Expertise” conference.
The idea behind these networks is that they bring together the best of the UK, from our universities, our private sector, the City of London, the technology sector, to tackle the challenges of developing countries. This is a win-win situation. As our partners benefit from our world-class expertise, UK business and academia can expand further globally.
The Nigerian finance minister recently asked me for advice on how to build a data center. Twenty years ago, we could have provided the money and delivered it to them. Today Nigeria wants to take control. They don’t want our money, but they want our advice on regulations, legislation, our expertise and experience.
By providing a platform for new voices and new ideas, we hope to bring the UK’s best to improving lives around the world. The reward is huge. Helping countries build their own systems in a sustainable way and allowing much more money to flow to developing countries than ODA could ever do. For the UK, this means shaping the standards, partnerships and investments that will define the global economy for years to come.
The world has changed. It’s still changing rapidly. Development changed with it. But our values, our passion and our determination to build a safer, fairer, more prosperous world are stronger than ever.
Humanity can still achieve these goals if we work together. This week’s Global Partnerships Conference is a small part of that journey.
Baroness Chapman of Darlington is Minister of State. international development and Africa
This article was produced as part of The Independent. Rethinking Global Aid project
