Penny Mordant confirms in writing to the Chair of the International Development Committee that ‘our 0.7% ODA is protected and will continue as planned’ and that DFID staff will be redeployed as required by the Cabinet Office ‘as part of planning for a no-deal EU exit scenario.’

In other DFID news, the next funding round of UK Aid Direct will open on 4 March. Check out details here.

At the end of January, the Cross Party Group on International Development at Holyrood welcomed the Side by Side Global Steering Group, a faith movement for gender justice working in Scotland and internationally.

The insightful meeting, organised by staff based at Christian Aid Scotland, highlighted the need to engage faith leaders in order to ensure women and girls are not left behind across the global south.

Edinburgh Sustainable Projects Abroad (ESPA) President, Rebecca Murphy Lonergan, tells us about their  new mission for 2019, to fund public health initiatives in the Ekumfi district of Ghana.