Responding to the news, Dr Bruce said, “When I wrote to the Prime Minister in July, urging him to reconsider the merger of the Department for International Development into the Foreign Office, I did so given our genuine concerns that it would jeopardise the UK’s world-leading humanitarian work amongst the world’s poorest and most marginalised peoples.
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“The Government’s triple whammy of cutting the UK’s overseas aid budget by a third, the ending the Government’s promise to spend just under 1% of gross national income on overseas aid, alongside the departmental merger, will hurt the poorest people beyond our shores who will undoubtedly suffer as a result. This cannot be right,” Dr Bruce said.
The Moderator continued, “The Government has done so much to support so many people across the UK in these unprecedented times. It is against this backdrop, in the midst of the biggest global humanitarian disaster in a century, with the Covid-19 pandemic threatening to reverse decades of hard-won gains for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people, alongside the challenges posed by the climate crisis, that I would urge the Chancellor to reconsider his decision.”
Rev Dr Liz Hughes, convener of PCI’s Council for Global Mission, which amongst other responsibilities manages the denomination’s international aid and disaster relief response through its development partners and partner churches around the world, also expressed her concern.
“The defence of the rights of the poor and caring for our global neighbours are, for us, gospel imperatives. They are also basic humanitarian values, which are shared by people of all faiths and none, and this should include secular governments. While the government has broken the promise it made to keep overseas aid at 0.7% of gross national income, I welcome the Chancellor’s commitment to restore what he has taken away. However, this decision will hurt many across the globe and the UK’s reputation, especially in its lead role in COP 21,” she said.
In May, PCI released £60,000 to its relief and development partners, Tearfund and Christian Aid, and partner churches overseas, to facilitate Covid-19 relief efforts in some of the poorest countries. Dr Hughes continued, “As a church we are committed to supporting the work of our development partners and this was the right thing to do. During Advent each year, we traditionally ask our 500-plus congregations to support our partners through the World Development Appeal. The appeal usually raises around £600,000 for specific projects around the world. Targeted effectively, it can make a significant difference to the lives and livelihoods of individuals and communities alike.
“This year, instead of a World Development Appeal, we will be launching a Moderator’s Christmas Appeal to support PCI’s relief and development partners, along with our direct partner churches in South Sudan, Malawi, Indonesia, Nepal, Lebanon, Syria and Romania, who will benefit in the battle against Covid,” she said.
Dr Bruce added, “While many are feeling the economic impact of the pandemic at home, I know that our members will support the appeal prayerfully and sacrificially. As we battle this global pandemic together, this weekend I have also called our Church to prayer – focusing on those working on the ground overseas, on the home front, and those most severely impacted by Covid beyond our island and those at home.”
Photos: Along with Dr Bruce and Dr Hughes, Farmers in the Inhassoro district of Mozambique, which lies within the cyclone region of the country, are also pictured. A region that is prone to drought, one of the projects supported by the 2019 World Development Appeal assisted Tearfund’s partner, Comité Ecuménico Para O Desenvolvimento Social, to help farmers learn how to adapt their methods so they could be more resilient and productive through conservation agriculture techniques.