The progress made towards reducing poverty and improving global health over the last 15 years surpasses that made in the whole history of mankind, explains Joe Cerrell. He outlines the story so far, what drove some of the main achievements, and stresses the importance of Britain’s commitment to overseas development aid.

One example of this new method of advocacy is the Global Citizen Festival, a concert held in New York City each September to promote awareness of extreme poverty. The festival’s model is a digital facelift of the 1980s movement-building efforts of Amnesty International and an indirect descendant of Bono’s ONE campaign, which pioneered online advocacy for the development sector in 2004. 

Last week's United Nations General Assembly made headlines for a new plan to double the number of refugees allowed into its member nations and to expand aid. But while politicians were making bold speeches about a proposal that may or may not be enforced, the first ever United Nations Creative Director was quietly introducing delegates to the new media technology that is changing how the 71-year-old institution makes decisions.

Earlier this week, world leaders gathered at the United Nations to take action. So did 51 U.S. firms in a display of true corporate leadership because, simply put, a crisis of this scale requires all hands on deck --governments, foundations, international organizations, and, yes, the private sector.

Britain is currently a highly influential actor in the international development system, due to a combination of its financial clout and soft power, which enables influence without resorting to force or money. The UK has been one of the most important donors to multilateral initiatives such as the World Bank’s International Development Association and the EU’s European Development Fund. 

Both new players have made substantial economic and soft power investments in the country to boot. Since 2015, Beijing has poured over $14 billion into infrastructure development. Saudi Arabia, itself a prominent donor to Djibouti’s public works, has spent generously on social welfare projects for the country’s poor.

The programs taught mothers, fathers and others in the family with child-rearing responsibilities the importance of good nutrition, and how to better care for their children. USAID partners mentored families to ensure more frequent health clinic visits, helped them access healthy food through temporary food transfers, and provided cooking demonstrations to expand use of locally available nutritious foods.

As part of his visit, Prince Harry spent a considerable amount of time learning about the HIV virus and sharing his efforts to encourage high-risk groups to undergo HIV testing for early detection and treatment. Earlier in July, Prince Harry underwent HIV testing himself to encourage people to put their inhibitions aside and embark on the antiretroviral drug therapy if tested positive.