On Tuesday 15 May 2018 The Coalition for Global Prosperity hosted a panel in the House of Commons, organised by to discuss ‘Disease X’ and ways to prevent the next global epidemic.

We were proud this week to host a reception in Parliament with the Foreign Minister Boris Johnson MP and Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop MP. The event, co-hosted with Global Citizen and titled 'Girls in Emergencies' brought together leaders in the aid sector, Parliamentarians and education activists to discuss how the UK and the Commonwealth are empowering girls in times of crisis.

To coincide with the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in London, The Coalition for Global Prosperity hosted a private roundtable with Bill Gates to discuss the role of the private sector in development.

There are plenty of people who argue that aid is a waste of money. Secretary James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis – current US Secretary of Defence, and former Commander of the US Joint Forces – isn’t one of them. In 2013, Mattis said if the US cut its diplomacy and development budgets “then I need to buy more ammunition”

In early April the Coalition for Global Prosperity and the British Foreign Policy Group brought together analysts, civil servants and development agencies to consider practical answers to this challenge. In particular we were interested to understand views on how the UK’s development agenda should relate to the government’s Global Britain policy and how to encourage the development and diplomacy sectors to work better together.

At their recent conference, the Foreign and Commonwealth office brought together a select group of leading foreign office officials and partners and a range of future leaders to debate the key global issues facing Britain today. The Coalition for Global Prosperity’s Chief Executive Theo Clarke was invited to the weekend to speak on the crucial role that UK Aid plays in promoting Britain’s soft power.

International Women’s Day was not only about celebrating progress but about pushing for more and that’s why I’m #StillMarching and backing Helen Pankhurst’s call for a decade of suffrage. Gender equality is like an elastic band, you can stretch it but if you don’t stretch it far enough it reverts back to its usual position. This is why we need to keep making the case and why the Global Goals are so important as they give the world a much-needed global agenda.

On Tuesday 6th February the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) to End Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), which is co-chaired by Zac Goldsmith MP and Jess Phillips MP, hosted a joint event with the Coalition for Global Prosperity to mark the Day of Zero Tolerance for the abusive practice. The evening brought together leading voices from across government, grassroots campaigns and healthcare to discuss how the UK Aid can continue to change attitudes and support women who have been affected by FGM.

Regardless of how you voted in the EU Referendum, most people will agree Brexit is an historic moment which is forcing the UK to redefine our country’s role in the world. We now have the opportunity to reconsider what sort of nation we would like to be – and we should use this opportunity to forge an even more positive, global future for ourselves.

Let me take you to northern Uganda on the border with South Sudan, where you will find one million refugees, brought there by war, disease and drought. And to the Bidi Bidi camp in particular, which I visited recently, where over 270,000 refugees now live. Refugee numbers here are growing faster than even in Syria, yet it’s a place largely forgotten by the world.

Women and girls are being denied the opportunity to reach their potential because of the simple injustice of not having access to a loo, says Theo Clarke, Chief Executive of The Coalition for Global Prosperity. Starting your period can be stressful for any young girl. But being able to use a clean loo in private is a privilege that most British girls can take for granted.

In September our CEO Theo Clarke visited Bidi Bidi refugee camp in northern Uganda, where South Sudanese refugees have been fleeing across the border. Violence escalated in South Sudan in July 2016, and famine was declared by the UNHCR in February 2017. Due to an increase in international donor support, the famine was halted in June 2017. Whilst there Theo saw how UK aid is helping to provide vital support in terms of education, health care and food supplies. She also attended a livelihoods workshop where refugees are being taught key skills to become self-sufficient.