Fragile and war-torn countries such as Sudan, Somalia and Afghanistan are to be placed at the heart of Britain’s £8 billion aid programme in a striking policy shift, The Times has learnt.

Douglas Alexander, the International Development Secretary, has decided that a hard-edged approach to development is required, with more aid workers being sent into the so-called conflict states.

Although those countries are less popular destinations for the aid agencies, and the work involved potentially more dangerous, Mr Alexander believes that they must be tackled if the millennium development goals for aid are to be achieved.

In future half of all new direct British aid — £1 billion a year — will be committed to fragile countries. The money will be taken from more traditional programmes, with Britain’s aid offices around the world being asked to look at their priorities. As programmes are closed — those for Cambodia, China, Moldova, Bosnia and Serbia will go by 2011 — resources will be redirected to tougher territory.

About 20 countries are on the Department for International Development’s “fragile” list. One third of the world’s 1.4 billion poorest people are living in the countries that are hardest to reach, many of which have been ravaged by war, suffered weak governance or experienced civil unrest because of economic difficulties.

The department is expected to increase funding for security and justice by more than double, and create economic opportunities to benefit millions of people in countries where lack of employment is a threat to stability.

The funding should result in more effective and trusted policing, job creation through postwar rebuilding projects, and long-lasting peace deals between violently opposed parties.

A government source said: “We will never eradicate world poverty unless we focus on the most fragile countries. We must tackle the difficulties they face head on.”

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