We will set out our priorities for the increased aid allocation in a new Country Assistance Plan (CAP) for Pakistan. DFID officials are now preparing for the consultation process. We will seek as wide a variety of views as possible and ensure they are fed into our CAP thinking and planning. The Government of Pakistan has made progress in fighting extreme poverty and hunger but very real needs remain. One in 10 children die before their fifth birthday; around eight million children do not go to school; approximately 50 per cent. of the adult population are illiterate, two thirds of whom are women; and at the last count, some 38 million were living below the poverty line in 2005.
At the G8 conference in 2005 the UK made a commitment to increase its aid budget to 0.7 per cent. of national income by 2013. This rise in DFID’s budget will enable us to increase our spending in those countries which need it most, including Pakistan, in order to help them to meet the Millennium Development Goals.