Peace Direct welcomes the government’s shift in funding from traditional aid areas to conflict prevention. The Department for International Development announcement that it plans to double the amount spent in fragile states to a billion pounds a year has been hailed as “A common sense investment in the future.”
Carolyn Hayman, Chief Executive of Peace Direct said, “This is a sensible way to use limited resources. There is no point in building wells if women risk being raped and attacked using them. There’s no point in building hospitals and schools if people are unable to use them because of fear of violence. We know that if we can prevent conflict, we will save money and help build stable communities which has got be a common sense investment for the future.”
DfID intends to focus on funding police, security and justice systems as well as creating jobs for ex soldiers. This is a marked move away from more traditional aid areas such as health and education.
“There are bound to be those in the development sector who’ll be disappointed by this shift in emphasis but we know that 50 per cent of all conflict reignite within ten years of ending so anything that can be done to stop that must be a welcome move in the right direction.” said Carolyn.
