Britain puts up £20m to counter women’s poverty

BRITAIN has agreed to provide £20m of funding over the next two years to a new United Nations agency set up to help women in poverty around the world.

The commitment will make the UK the second-largest donor to UN Women, but has disappointed campaigners who have been calling for Britain’s contribution to be more than twice as much.

The body, set up six months ago to tackle gender inequality and to help to empower women and girls, has struggled to raise a quarter of the $500m (£312m) funding commitments it hoped to achieve.

International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said Britain would provide £10m annually for the next two years.

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