Conflict 'wipes Out' Global Aid

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Conflict 'wipes out' global aid

The cost of just one conflict almost equals the value of global annual development aid, the International Development Select Committee says.

The committee of MPs said one civil war in a low-income country could cost $54bn (£29bn), while the worldwide aid budget in 2004 was $78.6bn (£42bn).

The MPs called on the government to make conflict a policy priority.

They also criticised the government for not taking action to deter UK companies from benefiting in conflict zones.

In its report, Conflict and Development: Peacebuilding and Post-Conflict Reconstruction, the committee said trade could "intensify and prolong conflicts".

'Wiped out'

The report comes after an inquiry into the effectiveness of the UK's peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction policies, particularly in Africa.

MPs visited Sierra Leone, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Aid pledged in 2005 could be "wiped out" by an increase in conflict in developing countries, they said.

They called on the Department for International Development to "direct sufficient resources towards conflict-prone and conflict-affected states in order to forestall the high cost of conflicts and their long-term impact".

Describing poor states as often weak states, the committee chairman Malcolm Bruce said "some conflict-prone states are rich in resources which can sustain warlords, encourage foreign adventurism and lead to the failure of the state and increased poverty for the many as the few get rich.

"If the government prioritised the link between conflict and development it would do more to create a climate for poverty reduction in these countries than any amount of costly aid programmes."

Mr Bruce said the Department for Trade and Industry needed to work harder to ensure UK companies working in Africa were following international guidelines.