Chamber and committees

As Mr Ross knows, I am acutely focused on the challenges that people in Scotland face, which is why we are taking action through the investments in the national health service and the expansion of provision.

I am very proud of the fact that Scottish institutions have helped to train a cohort of dentists in Malawi, who will significantly improve the oral healthcare of people in Malawi and provide opportunities there. The sense of pride and esteem that was expressed in relation to the advantages and the connections with Scottish institutions was palpable, and Scotland should be very proud of that.

An important aspect that is at the heart of my statement is about the need for us to provide constant support to the global south. If we do not do that, the issues that affect those regions will have ever more acute impacts on us, and we will have to manage the implications. In today’s exchanges it has been suggested that we can somehow just ignore all those issues and that they have nothing to do with us. My opinion could not be more different: those issues have everything to do with us, and we should deploy the support that we can within the agreements that are reached in Parliament to support the programmes to ensure that Scotland can fulfil our international obligations.

I am very supportive of such an approach, because it is important that public confidence about the effectiveness of the programmes is maximised. The suggestion that Sarah Boyack puts to me is strong. Twenty years ago, when the international development work was enabled by Jack McConnell’s Government, I felt that it was essential, because it established the partnership and connection between us and other countries and it enabled us to learn from each other and assist others who face acute challenges. In the intervening years, the climate challenge has become ever more threatening to communities in Zambia and Malawi.

I am very happy to explore those issues. I will ask the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, Angus Robertson, to explore them in more detail and to take forward the helpful suggestions that have been made.

I saw at first hand some of the examples of how lives had literally been saved by the programmes that the Scottish Government is involved in. I saw a water supply programme in the Zomba area of Malawi where the application of technology has created the ability to get clean water supplies to the population and to support irrigation projects that are sustaining lives in those communities. It was not lost on me, and a number of our development partners commented to me, that our projects and our investments are literally saving lives in those communities. The people of Scotland should be proud of the efforts that have been undertaken to support those who are much less fortunate than we are today.

Last week, I returned from a visit to Zambia and Malawi to see some of the projects and partnerships that are supported by the Scottish Government’s international development programme. This was the first ever visit by a First Minister of Scotland to Zambia, and the first by a First Minister to Malawi since 2005.

Of course, Scotland has a close relationship with both countries that has been built over the past 150 years. Therefore, it was important to me to witness those relationships at first hand and to further strengthen them in person, by hearing directly from the people in those countries about the challenges that they face, their aspirations and their goals for our on-going partnership.

The partnerships were initially built through the outreach of institutions such as Scotland’s churches, but, today, they are threaded through every facet of our communities, institutions and Governments. Although they have evolved over time, the strength and depth of those ties have never wavered. I saw that for myself during my visit. I experienced the warmest of welcomes in Zambia and Malawi, and the reassurance that these remain close, innovative and forward-looking relationships, with great potential for future growth.

My visit coincided with the 20th anniversary of the signing of the original co-operation agreement between the Governments of Scotland and Malawi. From that important moment in 2005, we have grown Scotland’s international development footprint and its contribution to global solidarity to the shape and level that we all see today.

Our international development and humanitarian crisis funding reached nearly £13 million this financial year, and we stand by our commitment to increase it to £16 million per annum by the end of this parliamentary session. In addition to Malawi, our international development work now includes partnerships with Zambia, Rwanda and Pakistan. Our support to international communities comes not only through our international development fund, but through our climate justice fund and funding to respond to global humanitarian crises, with a total commitment of roughly £25 million.

Like every other member in the chamber, I know full well that we are in the midst of the most challenging fiscal situation since devolution, and that times are tough for households and businesses across Scotland. My focus on resolving those pressures, within the powers of this Government, is unwavering. However, it is possible—indeed, necessary and right—for Scotland to play her part in the global issues and global challenge that we face. Failure to do so would simply worsen the conditions and inequalities that fuel conflict, deprivation and injustice throughout the world.

Scotland is showing leadership and is offering sustained funding. We Scots are—and will continue to be—good global citizens, and I am proud to serve a country that values its commitments to the world’s most vulnerable.

Many people in the global south live in extreme poverty, and the challenge to their survival is made ever greater by the devastating—and increasing—impacts of climate change, which they, largely, have not caused.

I saw that during my visit. Malawi, the seventh poorest country in the world, is experiencing simultaneous economic and climate crises. In my time there, I met people who are contending with high inflation, the servicing of devastating levels of debt and crippling food insecurity. At the same time, they are enduring the climatic shocks of alternating drought and flooding from tropical storms and cyclones.

However, I also saw the difference that our interventions are making. In both Zambia and Malawi, I saw that our projects, commitment and investment are improving lives. They are working in health, inclusive education, equalities, renewable energy and climate justice. They are rooted in those close relationships between countries and institutions, where they are finding shared solutions and supporting shared goals.

The new Scottish Government-funded Blantyre-Blantyre research laboratories in Malawi and Zambia are a powerful testament to that. Three universities—in Glasgow, Blantyre and Lusaka—are working together to conduct research into non-communicable diseases. Through that shared commitment to collaborative research, they are improving healthcare for all.

At Kamuzu University of Health Sciences in Blantyre, I met Malawi’s first ever cohort of home-grown dentists, whose T-shirts proudly proclaimed them “Locally relevant, globally competent.”

In Zambia, I saw the paediatric operating room installed by Dundee-based Kids Operating Room—I had previously visited its sister operating theatre in Dundee. That health partnership will significantly improve access to safe surgery for thousands of children in Zambia.

I am equally proud of our efforts in Malawi and Zambia to secure equitable access to education for disabled learners and girls. In Malawi, I was able to meet teachers from Balaka secondary school, where we are funding scholarships for girls, as well as critical wraparound services, such as mentorship and career guidance. In Zambia, I met partners and grantees from our women and girls fund, which is a key programme for advancing gender equality and the rights of women and girls. At that meeting, I was able to hear directly from them about the challenges that they face and their determination to tackle gender inequality and gender-based violence in their society.

Our women and girls fund is designed to work at a grass-roots level. That means that we work in partnership alongside groups and communities, and that we learn from them as they advocate on the issues that so directly affect them.

It is the same with our climate just communities programme. On my visit, I met people in Chimbalanga village in Zomba, Malawi, who are taking control of their lives and livelihoods with support from our climate justice fund. That has only strengthened my resolve to ensure that the value of and the vital need for community-led climate finance programmes such as ours are heard loud and clear at the 30th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—COP30—in Brazil and in climate negotiations far beyond that. I am determined that Scotland will continue to support climate justice action in the global south.

Borrowing can be a vital tool for economic growth and development, but when borrowing grows too much or too quickly, it becomes problematic. That is happening across developing countries, where total public debt reached a record $29 trillion in 2023. In 2020, Zambia became the first African country to default on its debt, and the International Monetary Fund recently reported that, in 2024, Malawi’s overall public debt to gross domestic product ratio was around 79 per cent. Across the global south, unsustainable debt repayments are consuming resources that should be used to build schools, hospitals and climate-resilient infrastructure, and to create progress and opportunity.

Climate change is exacerbating the problem. The global south should not be forced to choose between repaying its creditors and helping its communities to recover from storms and droughts. Scotland has consistently advocated for other countries to follow our example of giving funding for loss and damage as grants—not loans—so that countries can recover from extreme climate events without taking on additional debt.

However, there is also a need to look at the structural issues that entrench cycles of debt and dependence. Prior to my visit, I met with the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, Christian Aid Scotland and Humza Yousaf MSP to discuss the jubilee debt campaign. That campaign calls for a fairer approach to resolving global debt crises and proposes solutions at a national and international level.

In the face of global debt injustice, I am convinced that Scotland must continue to lead with compassion and conviction. We can and we will continue to use our voice to speak out against injustice. Therefore, I announce to the Parliament our support for the cancel debt, choose hope campaign. I raise my voice, my Government’s voice and Scotland’s voice in support of finding a fair, long-term solution to the global debt crisis.

I have spoken today about our development assistance programmes, through which we provide financial assistance to Malawi and Zambia. Those must be sustained, but we must also find ways to nurture greater economic activity and growth in the global south to foster greater economic freedom.

During my visit, I heard about the determination of Malawi and Zambia to move from aid relationships with the global north to relationships that are based on increased trade and investment. In Blantyre, I met with partners in our Malawi investment initiative, including the NBM Development Bank and the St Andrew macadamia farm. At that meeting—and in a subsequent meeting with Malawi’s President, Peter Mutharika—I offered to use my Government’s convening power to host discussions on boosting investment in developing countries. That is a crucial ingredient for encouraging greater economic activity and growth in the global south.

Some 20 years on from the start of our international development programme, my Government reaffirms its commitment to this work. We remember the relationships that were forged 150 years ago and we are proud of all the good that has come from them. We will continue to grow and deepen those relationships and to evolve them to meet the emerging challenges of our time.

There is, of course, still work to do, but we are committed to doing it. We will continue to work together in partnership to make a positive difference abroad and here at home. We will continue to be good global citizens. Scotland, as she always has, will continue to play her part.

Let me assure Russell Findlay that I am very focused on the issues and challenges that face the people of Scotland. As a result of that, and as he will have seen from the news this morning, there is data demonstrating that waiting lists are falling and that the number of procedures that are being undertaken in our health service is increasing. Our young people have just delivered a very strong level of performance in the examination system—performance that is back to pre-Covid levels—and we are taking steps to ensure that our public services meet the needs and expectations of people in Scotland. We have also been focused on economic growth in Scotland, as I was last night, when I discussed a variety of ideas with the Scottish technology council to that end.

I will absolutely be held to account for my focus on domestic issues. I will be answering questions again here on Thursday on the basis of my responsibilities, but I am also very happy to be here today to explain to Parliament the Government’s commitment to making sure that Scotland fulfils our obligation as a good global citizen. That is because the issues that will affect Scotland will be affected by what is happening in the global south. It is unavoidable. The climate crisis in the global south will have an effect on us here in Scotland, and the issues that we are wrestling with in health programmes in the global south will have a resonance here in Scotland.

One thing that I am very proud of is to lead a country that is outward looking and focused on working with others, and that is what my Government will do.

The Government is on track to fulfil that commitment.

The Government has taken measures in relation to NHS Grampian, and the board is under a significant level of additional scrutiny as a consequence of the issues that Tess White puts to me. I know that the cabinet secretary is meeting the board on Monday. I will wait to get a read-out of the report that Tess White mentioned. I am very happy to engage. I discuss the performance of the national health service with my officials on a weekly basis, and I will reflect on the points that she puts to me.

I assure Tess White that the issues that are important for the delivery of healthcare to the communities in the north-east of Scotland are being properly and effectively scrutinised and delivered, and I will ask the cabinet secretary to write to her with an update on those issues.

In my statement on 3 September, I set out to the Parliament the actions that are within the Parliament’s competence and responsibility to take forward. The Government will pursue that agenda to ensure that we fulfil the commitments that I gave to the Parliament.

Before I respond to Mr Findlay, I want to take a moment to welcome the news that Israel and Hamas have agreed the first phase of a peace plan for Gaza. I call for all sides to abide by the terms of the agreement, for the release of all hostages and for the immediate entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. I know that, after more than two years of devastating brutality and loss of life, this will be a moment of relief for many here, in Scotland, and around the world. I reiterate my call that Palestinians and Israelis must be able to live safely side by side, based on a two-state solution. I dearly hope that this is the first step towards that outcome, and I express my thanks to all the mediators who have worked so hard to create this moment and this opportunity for peace. [Applause.]

In relation to Mr Findlay’s substantive question, I am deadly serious about the argument for Scottish independence. As a country, we have exercised self-government since 1999, with the establishment of this Parliament. A number of significant benefits have been achieved for the people of Scotland. Some of those, such as the ban on smoking in public places and the introduction of free personal care, were delivered by the previous Government and some of them were delivered by my Government—including the abolition of tuition fees, minimum unit pricing for alcohol and the introduction of the Scottish child payment.

We are at a moment now, in Scotland, when the rightward drift of the United Kingdom and the stagnation of living standards in our country demonstrate a need to re-examine the argument. That is why independence is the fresh start that Scotland needs.