In defence of aid
I read David Blair’s column (“The danger is that aid serves to underwrite and perpetuate a misallocation of resources”, 9 April) with interest.

From the perspective of the people we work with, some of the poorest communities overseas, the truth is that UK aid helps Cafod to save lives. Funding from the Department for International Development (DFID) enabled a consortium of faith agencies including Cafod, World Vision and Catholic Relief Services to help stem the spread of Ebola across Sierra Leone, by providing safe and dignified burials to more than 16,000 victims, after traditional burial practices contributed to up to 80 per cent of new Ebola transmissions.

The Catholic community’s staggering generosity to our 2012 Lent appeal, totalling gifts worth £9 million, was matched pound for pound by UK aid, and helped to build solar-powered pumps to pipe water to a region of rural Zimbabwe. There I met people whose lives were transformed: previously they had walked for hours to fetch lake water, with some killed by crocodile attacks.