Focus should be on alleviation of poverty

Sir, – It appears Christian Aid has been drawn into the NGO morass where, among other things, aid was exchanged for sex.

Referring to the desperate women involved as “prostitutes” is especially deplorable.

As the Church of Scotland’s main charity partner, it must be thoroughly cleansed before a contrite organisation returns to its original remit.

The fact is, like most NGOs, Christian Aid had spread its tentacles into other fields. It has been rightly criticised for supporting the violent, US-led regime change in Haiti in 2004, for conducting deeply misleading campaigns against reducing trade barriers in Africa, and for its profoundly anti-Israeli stance in the complex Palestinian conflict.

It’s far too closely associated with Fairtrade, a form of market manipulation that harms infinitely more poor farmers than it helps. It should cut its ties with the controversial Trade Justice Movement, which uses “human rights” language as a way of articulating highly partisan criticisms of global trade liberalization and international trade law.

Above all, it must focus on poverty alleviation rather than climate change.

It needs to be wary of alarmist campaigns like Stop Climate Chaos, where simplistic models spew out unscientific “what-if” scenarios. Computer-generated alarmism is “garbage in, gospel out” and a religious organisation should be impervious to such false prophesies. Rev Dr John Cameron. 10 Howard Place, St Andrews.

Picture: PA. International development secretary Penny Mordaunt called the sexual exploitation of vulnerable people by aid workers “grotesque”.