Christians welcome Chancellor's US World Aid Trip

Speaking ahead of the trip to the US this week, the British Chancellor Gordon Brown pledged his "mission" to press the Bush administration to act over climate change and global poverty, and in particular to relieve the suffering of people in Africa. UK Christian campaigners were greatly encouraged by his move.

As the UK is expected to gain power in the international arena running up to next year's presidencies of the G8 and European Union, Chancellor Gordon Brown has declared 2005 will be a "make or break year" in the fight against global poverty at a catholic aid agency's annual Memorial Lecture earlier this month.

While both the UK and the US are among the most influential countries in the world, Chancellor Brown recognised the importance of uniting their efforts together to make a difference to the world. When both countries increase their efforts for the world's poor in Africa, then other countries will learn and follow the example.

"If it doesn't happen in 2005, I think it will be difficult to persuade the developing countries that the richest countries of the world will keep faith and can be trusted to keep their promises," he added.

"We are interested in working with the Americans to make our G8 presidency achieve results, both on international development and in climate change."

On ITV's Jonathan Dimbleby programme on Sunday, Chancellor Brown even described that it is a Christian duty to help the Third World, "...out of Christian morality, a great deal has got to be done."

"All of us share in one way, a moral sense that human dignity requires that we do something about either the debt, or the poverty, or the unfair trade that means that so many people have not even got a first chance in life," he continued.

One of the major aims of Chancellor Brown's trip is to seek the US's support for his proposal called the International Finance Facility (IFF).

IFF works by selling government-backed bonds on the international capital markets, so that the cash available for world debt relief will be doubled up to $100 billion. Chancellor Brown is "optimistic" the Bush administration will support plans for 100 percent debt relief.

In response to the campaign of many churches and church agencies in the UK, Chancellor Brown said Britain would also be pushing for more money to combat HIV/Aids and malaria and to boost education in developing countries.

Chancellor Brown has scheduled to speak on development at the United Nations and Council for Foreign Relations in New York on Friday. Then he will meet with US Treasury Secretary John Snow in Washington and representatives from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the weekend.