By Alasdair Allan, Minister for International Development and Europe in the Scottish Government

LAST week I visited Zambia to see for myself the difference the Scottish Government’s international development programme is making to people’s lives. I spent time in the capital city Lusaka and Kabwe, capital of Central Province, where the Scottish Government’s Zambia Development Programme is principally based.

I was greatly impressed by the dedicated people I met, Scots and Zambians, and their commitment to making a difference. I visited a project run by our local partners Action Aid and Grassroots Soccer which works with vulnerable women to empower them through sport.

At Chibombo women’s markets I met stallholders and found out about work to give them a safer working environment and, with our support, to upskill them to become entrepreneurs. I learned about the work of Police Scotland that we’re funding to partner and train local police officers to be better equipped to deal with gender-based violence and child protection issues, and to make sure that perpetrators are brought to justice.

We want to make sure our international development programme has the biggest impact possible. It has developed since publication of our new International Development Strategy, Global Citizenship and we have refocused our work on four partner countries (Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia and Pakistan) to help maximise impact.

The Scottish Government has stringent measures in place to monitor, evaluate and measure the impact of the projects we support.We take great care to invest in projects that make a lasting difference. The people and organisations we work with in Zambia have an articulate vision of how they want to develop.

The support provided by the Scottish Government is not for one-off projects. Our aim is to create lasting and sustainable development. An excellent example elsewhere in the world is our Women’s Scholarship Programme in Pakistan. This has enabled more than 400 young women from disadvantaged backgrounds to study Masters courses in Pakistani universities. In the same country our Children’s Scholarships Programme has enabled more than 3,000 children from disadvantaged and minority backgrounds to attend primary and secondary education, evidence of people getting opportunities to change the direction of their lives.

Scotland has a proud history of playing an active and positive role in the international community. International development will continue to be a key part, helping us fulfil the First Minister’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

I have been appalled by the revelations that have surfaced. It is deplorable that those whom we entrust to deliver vital support to people in the most vulnerable circumstances and in desperate times of need have abused that trust. It is a small number of people but it is vital that everything possible is done to prevent further abuses and that all previous allegations are properly investigated.

I have written to the international non governmental organisations the Scottish Government works with to reiterate that we will not tolerate any form of human rights abuses or misconduct and I seek to discuss with them their safeguarding policies. Despite our shock at these dreadful reports, we must not lose sight of the fact that the overwhelming majority of people working for aid agencies and international development charities are doing excellent work, often in extremely challenging and dangerous circumstances.The projects I saw in Zambia were proof of that, and it was a privilege to see their work in action.