THE coronavirus pandemic is tough for us all and although news of a potential vaccine brings much hope, it also brings into sharp focus the inequalities that exist worldwide.

These will only accelerate unless we are able to think and work differently as a global community.

The world’s poorest people are hit hardest by every crisis, and the coronavirus is no different. The World Bank has warned that extreme poverty will rise in 2020 for the first time since 1998, with coronavirus expected to push a further 115 million people into that category. The pandemic threatens women and children disproportionately, reversing decades of progress. This in itself is a tragedy.

Adding salt to the wounds, the UK government last week announced a reduction in its contribution to overseas development, thereby reneging on its legal obligation to spend 0.7% of UK gross national income (GNI) on poorer countries struggling with climate change, conflict and now the coronavirus crisis.

This is despite the 0.7% GNI commitment being a Conservative manifesto pledge since the 2009 general election.

The UK has long been regarded as a leader in international aid and world affairs. A nation that has been progressive and understands the importance of the common good.

Over the years, I’ve visited many, many people and communities we work with that are ravaged by climate change and poverty. I’ve been overwhelmed by their generosity. From the moment I’ve entered, I’ve been met with kindness and hospitality.

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They’ve offered me drinks to quench my thirst, welcomed me into their homes and families, and on occasions given up their bed for me to sleep. They have modelled community in ways that are fragile, if not lost, in post-industrial countries like ours, and have shown joy, hope and love in ways that are truly humbling.

No matter how difficult their lives, they keep hope, imagine futures in which their lives will be better and they can provide for their loved ones, and believe that their children’s prospects will be better than their own.

These precious hopes are strong and enduring in people’s hearts and communities. But they are fragile and vulnerable in the face of today’s power imbalances, and only careful sensitivity, respect and awareness of dynamics between us will allow them to grow and become a reality.

No matter how bad we think our situation may be due to crises like the coronavirus, the world’s poorest people are always dealt a worst hand. These people remain the most vulnerable and at risk. Extreme poverty kills, takes away their hopes and denies them a chance of a future. It is dehumanising and undermines people’s dignity and in a world of plenty, is wholly unnecessary.

The suggestion that the UK cannot afford to maintain its aid budget is obviously false. We have just chosen to increase our defence spending by £16.5 billion. Meanwhile, in line with the 0.7% commitment, the aid budget was reduced by £4 billion as economists forecast c.30% fall in GNI this year. Now the aid budget is to be cut by another £4bn.

How can such an abject failure of global solidarity be reconciled with the Government’s constant assertion of Global Britain? 

Love and compassion bind us together as one human family. The poorest people in the world constantly suffer the dehumanising consequences of extreme poverty. We have a moral duty and, currently, a legal obligation to help those in need. Were the defence budget only increased by £12.5bn – an eye-watering sum in any year – this latest cut could have been avoided.

So don’t be taken in by the Chancellor’s claim that we can’t justify the aid budget. We can. But we’re choosing not to.

Meanwhile, our responsibilities and duties don’t stop because they’re inconvenient. As poverty, the pandemic and changing climates continue to tear through unimaginably poor communities throughout the world, this is not the time to let the world's poorest people suffer alone.

Alistair Dutton is the director of Scottish international aid charity SCIAF