With the end of 2017 fast approaching, we asked the UK's top civil servants to look back at the year, outline their goals for 2018 – and tell us what they cannot do Christmas without.
What are you most proud of achieving in 2017?
July's London Family Planning Summit was a real highlight. Thirty-seven governments committed to give millions of women and girls access to contraceptives. It gives them more choice over their lives and is a great return on investment – it enables more years in education, increases earnings potential and delivers demographic dividends.
Of course we can’t forget the election and inducting new and joint ministers and the everyday programme and policy work that changes lives across the world. The dedication, passion and resilience of DfID staff embody the civil service at its best.
What was your most difficult decision in 2017?
Where to start! The year has seen the scale of humanitarian crises grow. Since 2000 there has been only one famine declared globally – at the start of 2017 there was a real risk of four. And that is before you consider the unprecedented impact of Hurricane Irma. I cannot praise enough the teams that work on these crises, or those who surged into our hurricane response.
Deciding when, where and how to allocate financial and human resources when all humanitarian appeals globally are underfunded is a series of difficult decisions. Unfortunately we aren’t out of the woods yet.
What are your department’s top priorities for the year ahead?
DfID’s role is to tackle problems, and seize opportunities, that start elsewhere but have the potential to directly affect the UK – deep rooted poverty, refugee and migration challenges, pandemics, insecurity and conflict. Opportunities are driven by innovation, technology and science.
One priority will be to build the capability of our staff to harness those opportunities. Look out too for our Summit on Disability. Inclusion of the estimated 1 billion people with disabilities in economic opportunities and social services is one of the top challenges in development.
For you no Christmas is complete without…
My father who sadly passed away this year. After 54 years of his constant presence I will miss him greatly, but one thing I will ensure is his Christmas quiz tradition continues. Any questions anyone?