The Department for International Development (DFID) is the Government department dedicated to managing the UK's £5.7 billion aid budget. It works with both international organisations, such as the UN and World Bank, as well as local partners and NGOs to tackle the causes and effects of poverty in over 100 countries across the globe.
The Government has more than tripled its spending on international aid since 1997 and has pledged to double it again by 2013, meeting the UN target of 0.7% of GDP. This puts the UK at the forefront of international efforts to help the world's poorest people, lifting 3 million people out of poverty, keeping 5 million children in school and giving millions more access to basic health and sanitation every year.
DFID's recent white paper also gave a renewed focus to the new and emerging challenges facing developing countries, including the global economic downturn, the growing threat of climate change and the continuing problems of conflict, corruption and security.
DFID's work across the world
Burma - Cyclone Nargis: one year on
Cyclone Nargis struck Burma in May 2008, killing 140,000 and leaving millions more homeless and without food or water. DFID contributed £45 million to the relief effort, helping over a million survivors to weather the storm.
Kenya - Motorbikes and Midwives: Delivering better care for Kenya's mums
Women are more than 50 times more likely to die during childbirth in Kenya than in the UK, and in the rural communities of North West Kenya this figure can double. As part of DFID's £50 million Kenya Country Programme the UK provided motorbike ambulances to these isolated communities, helping pregnant women get to the hospital on time
Rwanda - 15 years on: land and security
Land disputes were one of the many factors behind the 1994 Rwanda genocide. In the years since DFID has worked to improve land laws, giving all Rwandans – regardless of gender or tribe – the chance to grow their own food on their own land.