Leading aid agencies have made a plea to Scotland's political parties to dedicate one day in the election campaign to the further consideration of a strategy for expanding the country's existing international development policy.

In a letter to party leaders, members of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty asked that Sunday 15 April be dedicated to the future of Scotland's aid policy and the outlining of longer-term strategies in the event of being voted into power.

Signatories of the letter included Oxfam in Scotland, Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF), Christian Aid, Islamic Relief, Save the Children, Jubilee Scotland and the World Development Movement.

A hustings debate will be hosted by the NGOs on aid policy on 'Development Day'.

Paul Chitnis, Chief Executive of SCIAF, said: "Recent opinion polling by SCIAF has shown very high levels of public support for Scottish politicians to take action on tackling global poverty.

"With a combination of public support here and great need in far too many countries around the world it's time for Scotland's politicians to bridge that gap and set out how they are going to take the aid policy forward."

Commenting on the letter, Judith Robertson, head of Oxfam in Scotland, said there was "a desperate need for more and better aid" in countries like Malawi.

"That is why we are asking all parties to set aside one day in the election campaign when they will set our their plans and engage in a debate on this policy," she said.


The text of their letter to party leaders is as follows:
"It is now almost two years since the Make Poverty History march in central Edinburgh when 250,000 people, most of the them Scots, joined a worldwide demand for More and Better Aid, Trade Justice and to Drop the Debt.

One outcome of that public demand to Make Poverty History has been the establishment of Scotland's own international development policy with a focus on Malawi. As leading Scottish aid agencies we very much welcome that initiative.

However we are also aware of the depth of need in Malawi and in many other countries across the world. That need, coupled with strong public support for more action, is why we believe that all parties should be setting out how they will take forward this policy.

That is why, as the Scottish Elections approach, we are asking all of Scotland's political parties to set aside Sunday 15th April as 'Development Day', one day during the campaign when instead of focusing on the bread and butter issues of health, justice and education, all parties set out their plans for the future of Scotland's international development policy.

We hope you will be willing to agree to this suggestion and look forward to hearing from you in that regard."