When we are confronted by the image of a child trapped in the rubble of an earthquake, or of a family clinging to the roof of a flooded home, we don’t so much commit to help, as feel committed to do so – committed by our shared humanity. It is because the impulse to relieve [...]

A number of you have asked me in comments on my blog about how we involve local communities in our roads programmes.  And I'm overdue to tell you about my recent field visit, which I mentioned in my blog on DFID's Bilateral Aid Review announcement. These two issues fit together neatly. My visit was to [...]

I live in Scotland.  A lot of people are often surprised at that.  They’re also often surprised to hear that DFID has a large office in Scotland, just on the outskirts of Glasgow.  From my desk on the top floor I can see rolling hills and woods.  On a sunny day, it’s pretty beautiful, and [...]

Recently I was in Helmand to help roll-out a programme on DFID's Bilateral Aid Review. As you might know from reading my last blog, my role here is to roll out key services for the Afghan population in the provinces, so a lot of my time will be spent out of the capital. It's in [...]

As most people who have ever watched Comic Relief will know, I’ve been to Africa many times before. I’ve reported on the destruction wreaked by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, on drought, on famine, on kids forced to live on the streets and the devastation that conflict inevitably leaves in its wake. Right from the off though [...]

I’ve just finished reading "When a Billion Chinese Jump" by Jonathan Watts. It took me a while – it's a pretty huge book, with copious notes to flick back and forth to. But I am glad I got there. Yes, the book is rather depressing. But it is also an engaging tour of the country, [...]

Today, as many of you will know from the huge number of amazing events taking place around the world, is the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. Women's issues might not be the first thing you think about when you consider roads and infrastructure in developing countries. But infrastructure is important for development because it provides [...]

A hundred years ago today, women across the world took a historic step on the long road to equality. The first ever International Women's Day was called to draw attention to the unacceptable and often dangerous working conditions that so many women faced worldwide. Although the occasion was celebrated in only a handful of countries, [...]

An estimated 25% of Zimbabwean children are 'vulnerable'  in development speak. That means they are defined as 'likely to experience a range of deprivations that inhibit their chances to survive to adulthood and fulfil their inherent potential'. Vulnerability and HIV/AIDS are inextricably intertwined in southern Africa, it is estimated that about a million Zimbabwean children have [...]

There's nothing quite like a drive in the country to understand the scale of a country's development needs. Whether in an armoured vehicle back in Helmand, on a field trip in Zambia in a previous role to see what scope there was for helping farmers adapt to climate change, or last week driving along roads [...]