At a time when the UK’s role in the world is changing and Boris Johnson is trying to minimise UK foreign aid, characterising it a 'cashpoint' in the sky some good news might have slipped past you unnoticed: Wild Polio has been eradicated from the continent of Africa, and UK foreign aid was critical to achieving this long standing humanitarian objective.

I think this news is an important reminder of the massively positive role that the UK has in the world.

We often spend time feeling guilty and critical of our colonial history. We feel under attack. And when we are under attack a very human reaction is to be defensive and to retreat. “If we’re so bad we’re going to retreat into isolationism then”.

But that would be wrong. Britain is one of the richest countries in the world and one of the most powerful. And that wealth and power came from Britain’s relationship with the rest of the world. No man is an island? No island is an island. We are connected to the rest of the world. So the question is not “do we have a relationship?”, but “what kind of relationship do we want to have?”.

Britain is full of kind and generous people: the overwhelming majority of citizens would like the world to be a better place. And that’s why we should be loudly celebrating the UK’s role in the fight against polio, now that Africa has been declared free from wild polio by the independent body, ‘The Africa Regional Certification Commission’.

Support from the UK has helped 220 million children across 47 countries in Africa. That is a big deal.

Polio usually affects children under five, sometimes leading to irreversible paralysis. Death can occur when breathing muscles are affected. Twenty-five years ago thousands of children in Africa were paralysed by the virus.

The disease is now only found in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The UK is one of the top donors to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), which has vaccinated millions of children against polio in the world’s poorest countries. As a result of their work more than 18 million people are able to walk who would otherwise have been paralysed by the virus.

At a time of historic change, where Britain is faced with an opportunity to decide who we want to be in the world, it is vital that we celebrate the good our country has done so that those who represent us in parliament know that we value the successes of UK aid.

I’ve written to my local MP, and I would encourage you to write to your MP to help share and promote the good news:

Dear xxx
I wanted to share my delight in hearing the news that, with considerable UK support, Africa has recently been declared free from wild polio.
This is exactly the kind of initiative that I support, and I am proud of our government’s decision to provide aid for this cause. UK Foreign aid is important and something we should continue to fund.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/wild-polio-wiped-out-in-africa-with-uk-aid-support