We need you now: let's tell the whole story

In the last few days you may have seen some negative criticism about aid that hasn’t told the whole story – we desperately need you to share your view and help demonstrate public support for development.

At a time of economic instability, cynics in the media are trying to force the government to cut aid by saying something we know isn’t true – that the public doesn’t want to give aid, and that our aid doesn’t work.

But we know differently.

Since its creation in 1997, British aid spending has helped achieve remarkable results:

• Through the GPEI more than 2 billion children have been immunised in the past 25 years and more than 8 million children have been saved from life long paralysis or death.
• The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations is supporting countries in immunising more than 250 million children by 2015, which could avert 3.9 million future deaths.
• Through The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, 6.6 million people in low and middle-income countries are on AIDS treatment, up from 200,000 a decade ago. Even more amazingly, access to AIDS treatment has increased over 3000% since the beginning of the Global Fund.

The myths that are being spread are wrong and dangerous, not telling the side of the story that good aid saves lives and produces sustainable solutions for the world’s poorest people. If left unchallenged, this could have a significant negative impact on the lives of the world’s poor.

We cannot allow the 30 years of progress that saw poverty reduced by nearly half to be halted or even reversed.

It is critical that we show the new Secretary of State, Justine Greening, just how many of us support aid spending.

Use the form on the right to send your letter of support to the Secretary of State now