Why UK was wrong to cut overseas aid and Scotland must keep trying to 'make poverty history'

The partnership between Scotland and Malawi has been described as ‘one of the most unique, remarkable, interesting and human interweavings of two nations anywhere in the world’

As political parties here in Scotland prepare for next year’s Holyrood election, their focus will rightly be on the health of our nation. There is much to be concerned about: NHS waiting lists at their highest levels ever, schools in urgent need of reform and Scotland desperately needing a strategy for economic growth.

But I hope that prospective MSPs will remember that we live in an interdependent world and build on Scotland’s direct support for international development, a policy we launched 20 years ago today.

Our devolved international development policy for Scotland was unveiled at a Commonwealth conference in Aberdeen. Forty national delegations had gathered to discuss local democracy and governance, a fitting topic for the host nation which only six years before had peacefully achieved devolution.

In 2005, a vast protest march took place in Edinburgh under the banner of Make Poverty History amid calls for G8 countries to write off Developing World debt (Picture: Scott Barbour) | Getty Images

A living example of a loving community

As I said on the day, the policy was built on Scotland’s history of looking beyond our borders, and it acknowledged the collective efforts and aspirations of Scots to play our part in tackling global inequality. Our long campaign for devolution and home rule was never inward looking and I firmly believed then, as I still do now, that our new parliament gave us the opportunity to refresh Scotland's connections across the world.

As First Minister, I had joined the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa and saw first hand the potential impact we could make. I visited Banareng Primary School where I met inspirational headteacher Pauline Sethole. In their Pretoria township, she had transformed her pupil’s lives – many of them living with HIV, all living without clean water – through the simple but brilliant concept of an ‘edible curriculum’.

Young people learning how to grow produce in the school garden, which then provided them with a hot meal. For most, it was the only one they would have that day. Banareng was a living example of a sustainable school and a loving community, and as First Minister I was determined that Scotland could not only support such important work, but we could learn from it too.

In 2005, international development was, as it remains today, a policy area reserved to the UK Government. Eyebrows were raised, but International Development Secretary Hilary Benn and I agreed that there was a role for Scotland. In his words: “When tackling extreme poverty, there is more than enough work to go round.”

Lifelong friendships

Early on we decided to primarily focus our efforts on one country, so that we could make the most impact. Malawi had a long-standing relationship with Scotland stretching back to Dr David Livingstone and Strathclyde University had established the Malawi Millennium Project in 2000.

Four years later, the Lord Provosts of Glasgow and Edinburgh launched a campaign to extend support for Malawi. The Scotland Malawi Partnership, the civil society network that grew out of the Lord Provosts’ work, celebrates its 20th anniversary later this year. Together with their equivalent, the Malawi Scotland Partnership, our shared vision of people-to-people development has grown and grown.

The impact of this policy since 2005 has far outstripped its modest budget and the engagement of the people of Scotland and Malawi has far outstripped even my optimistic ambitions. That impact is in areas as diverse as dentistry, solar energy, sanitation, special educational needs and cervical cancer.

Lifelong friendships have been forged and a generation of young people has learned, first hand, how interconnected we all are. We won over initial sceptics and former Conservative minister Rory Stewart described the partnership between Scotland and Malawi as “genuinely one of the most unique, remarkable, interesting and human interweavings of two nations anywhere in the world”.

Extreme poverty and starvation

Today, public support for development aid may be at a lower ebb but this is not a reason to reduce government investment in development, as the US and UK governments have just done. Extreme poverty and starvation are rising again, climate change is an ever-present danger with countries in sub-Saharan Africa among the most affected, girls are kept out of school, and violent conflicts threaten world stability in a way not seen since the Second World War.

As we saw when a global pandemic ripped through the world only five years ago and energy prices in Scotland rose because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, our world is connected like never before. Now is not the time to withdraw from our responsibilities to those most in need.

Twenty years ago, the people of Scotland responded positively to their new parliament’s commitment to international development. A quarter of a million people marched through Edinburgh to “make poverty history”. Today we are perhaps a less optimistic country than we were in 2005, but the global challenges are even more stark.

I have always believed that Scotland will only prosper if we have strong international relationships, whether in the United States, Asia or southern Africa. And that we, as a wealthy country, have a moral duty to give something back, to play our part in building a more secure, sustainable world. One where all children can face the future with hope.

Giving as well as taking

Next year Scottish voters will choose their next government. In 2026 there should be space for a debate on Scotland’s role in the world: how we sell ourselves, attract investment and visitors, and educate the next generation. But let’s also debate what we contribute.

There are ways in which I would spend the current international development budget differently – it could be a catalyst for even more partnerships and for others to act. It will be healthy for different visions to be exchanged.

But the principle that we give as well as take, that we understand global challenges affect us all, should again be at the heart of Holyrood. I hope political parties can all commit to that.

Jack McConnell, First Minister of Scotland from 2001 to 2007, is chair and founder of the McConnell International Foundation