Grave responsibility

Between 2015 and 2020, 15.6 million children worldwide were able to attend school and receive a decent education thanks to UK aid funding. In that same period, UK aid helped one person access lifesaving humanitarian assistance every 4.8 seconds, and, between 2015 and 2018, it vaccinated one child every 1.2 seconds. UK aid saves lives – and builds a safer, healthier, and more equitable world for us all.

 The Johnson government began the trend of cutting the UK aid budget. This year saw further cuts by a Labour government to fund an uplift in defence spending. These decisions have put at risk not just lives, but the progress previously made.

Evidence shows that the UK public is concerned about global instability, inequality, and conflict: one in three people donate, take action or engage with these issues. These cuts undermine the public’s values, as well as Labour’s 2024 manifesto pledge to rebuild Britain’s reputation on international development. Alongside the termination of USAID and cuts by Germany, France and others, UK aid cuts signify a critical trend that risks the lives of millions.

As more stories of natural disasters, conflicts and instability dominate our headlines, the impacts of UK aid cuts are already being felt. In Somalia, health programmes are at risk of closure, and women and girls risk losing access to sexual and reproductive healthcare across Asia. Cuts to an education programme in Syria could leave a generation of children unable to recover from conflict, proving that not even the most fragile and conflict-affected communities will be spared.

In fact, the government’s own assessment shows education and health programmes will be hit hardest. Women and girls will be severely impacted: cuts to a peace and security programme may result in up to 50 fewer new women-led organisations working to build peace in conflict-affected countries.

 USAID cuts have already left local health systems decimated, including in South Sudan, where one hospital in Bor state now has just two staff remaining after losing $500k in funding. Mothers are forced to bring severely malnourished children to a ward which has no oxygen or IV fluids to give.

The UK’s recent pledge to the Global Fund, which fights malaria, Aids and tuberculosis in over 100 countries, marks a 15 per cent fall from its previous commitment, despite co-hosting the replenishment summit with South Africa in November. Following more than two decades of progress, a future free of Aids is within reach – with Aids-related deaths in 2024 down by 56 per cent since 2010. Now, however, funding crises have put this future further off, and progress towards the global commitment of ending Aids as a public health threat by 2030 has been set dangerously off-track.

However, the damage isn’t limited to countries receiving UK aid. Beyond fulfilling our duty to help people, UK aid also delivers mutual benefits and protects the UK’s national interests. Investing in conflict prevention reduces the number of people forced to flee their homes, while health funding strengthens our ability to anticipate and respond to diseases that cross borders, as the global Ebola response highlights.

Cutting official development assistance (ODA) has also impacted our standing on the global stage. I have heard first hand from diplomats from around the world who are urgently calling on richer countries to meet their commitments to finance development. The UK used to answer these calls – now, we are leading the retreat and eroding our influence on the world stage. With the deepest cuts still to be implemented, it is essential that the UK government protects what remains of the UK aid budget, and ensures these funds are spent where they will have the most impact. The legal objective of UK aid – global poverty reduction – must be kept front of mind.

In 2024-25, £2.2bn of the UK aid budget was diverted to cover costs for asylum[1]seekers in the country, meaning the actual amount for overseas spending will fall to just 0.24 per cent of GNI in 2027/2028. Whilst support for asylum seekers is important, more cost-effective solutions – such as community housing – must replace Shortcuts costly private contracts which drain funds intended for tackling global poverty. The UK must commit to a development agenda across all areas of finance and policy, to restore our reputation as a reliable international partner, and rebuild the trust of voters, who are tired of broken promises from successive governments.

UK aid’s importance cannot be overstated – beyond the numbers, it is a lifeline for millions of people in need of vital resources to build a better, safer future. Walking away from our pledges not only undermines the fight against global poverty and security, but also threatens Britain’s place in the world.

Image credit: DFAID via Flickr