Former Prime Minister Helen Clark has appealed to international leaders to honour their promises of aid despite the economic downturn. Now Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, Clark urged all countries who had promised aid to "maintain" if not "increase their current level of support" to nations in need. Clark stressed that providing assistance was a "moral imperative" especially because "those least responsible for the economic crisis stand to bear the brunt of its effects." She talked specifically of the need to empower women and assist those in extreme poverty, saying that it is in everyone's interests to help those in need.

Regardless of debate surrounding the nature of government aid, the appeal to generosity in a time when budgets are tightening is an important reminder that strong societies depend on people taking responsibility to support one another.

Read Helen Clark's full speech here

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