UK: Don't cut international aid!

The UK government is considering abandoning its commitment to international aid. Cutting this aid would be a death sentence for some of the world's most vulnerable people, and a severe blow to our international relations.

Please sign this petition to demand that the government renew our country's current commitment to international aid.

Our international aid commitment is currently a modest 0.7 percent of the annual GDP - 70p for every hundred pounds made. Downing Street is refusing to comment on renewing this commitment. Following tax breaks for the rich and endless cuts to support for the poor at home in the UK, the message is worrying: only the elite matter.  

Microsoft founder Bill Gates expressed deep concern: ''The big aid givers now are the US, Britain and Germany - those are the three biggest and if those three back off, a lot of the ambitious things going on with malaria, agriculture and reproductive health simply would not get done.''

''Malaria has always been the disease we really want to take on and the UK has always in terms of research capacity and aid been a leader. In terms of where the aid ambition gets set, the UK can be a huge leader in driving that malaria eradication, or the world may have to back off and not get started on that.''

In short, the costs of abandoning our responsibilities are huge.

Please join us in asking that the UK doesn't turn its back on the world. Together we can send the message that international aid is an obligation we want the UK government to stand by, and that the lives of those in developing countries matter.