Miss-Delectable
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The Herald
Spending on international development is to rise 50% over the next two years, after an announcement yesterday by Patricia Ferguson, the Holyrood minister responsible.
She said the fund would rise from £3m per year to £4.5m, allowing for a range of projects which back Scottish agencies in working in several African and Asian countries - though it continues to be dwarfed by the scale of the UK's aid budget. The executive is to back 24 projects as a result of yesterday's announcement, including several in Malawi, which has a historic link with Scotland, strengthened last year when the First Minister visited and set up the fund.
Ms Ferguson, who is Culture and Sport Minister, but adds this to her responsibilities, said demand for the fund is strong, with 58 individual projects supported since last year, with a total of £7.7m. Of that total, 35 initiatives based in Malawi have received over £5m.
Swaziland, Ethiopia and Namibia are also to benefit, while areas affected by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami and the Kashmiri earthquake last autumn will receive £3.1m over the next three years.
Among the schemes being assisted is an Edinburgh-based project to help an association of macadamia nut growers in Malawi sell their crop directly to countries such as Scotland. Another group called Deaf Action will work with deaf people from Scotland, Malawi and Swaziland to help train and register sign-language interpreters.
A project by Mercy Corps Scotland will aim to improve the health of women in an earthquake-affected district in Pakistan. Ms Ferguson said: "We have decided to increase the fund in response to the very high demand for support."
Spending on international development is to rise 50% over the next two years, after an announcement yesterday by Patricia Ferguson, the Holyrood minister responsible.
She said the fund would rise from £3m per year to £4.5m, allowing for a range of projects which back Scottish agencies in working in several African and Asian countries - though it continues to be dwarfed by the scale of the UK's aid budget. The executive is to back 24 projects as a result of yesterday's announcement, including several in Malawi, which has a historic link with Scotland, strengthened last year when the First Minister visited and set up the fund.
Ms Ferguson, who is Culture and Sport Minister, but adds this to her responsibilities, said demand for the fund is strong, with 58 individual projects supported since last year, with a total of £7.7m. Of that total, 35 initiatives based in Malawi have received over £5m.
Swaziland, Ethiopia and Namibia are also to benefit, while areas affected by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami and the Kashmiri earthquake last autumn will receive £3.1m over the next three years.
Among the schemes being assisted is an Edinburgh-based project to help an association of macadamia nut growers in Malawi sell their crop directly to countries such as Scotland. Another group called Deaf Action will work with deaf people from Scotland, Malawi and Swaziland to help train and register sign-language interpreters.
A project by Mercy Corps Scotland will aim to improve the health of women in an earthquake-affected district in Pakistan. Ms Ferguson said: "We have decided to increase the fund in response to the very high demand for support."