The UK's foreign aid cuts will reduce bilateral support to some African countries by as much as 90%, according to Foreign Office figures. The department's annual report includes a breakdown of how the reduction in the aid budget will affect individual countries over the next three years.
Impact on African Nations
Analysis by Bond, the umbrella group for development charities, shows cuts of 90% for Mozambique and Malawi by 2029, 80% for Rwanda and Sierra Leone, and 49% for Somalia. Bond's chief executive, Romilly Greenhill, said: "By slashing UK aid funding to countries like Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Uganda, this Labour government is abandoning communities on the frontlines of conflict and the climate crisis and risks plunging these countries' populations into poverty and instability."
Government Justification
Keir Starmer's government announced deep reductions to overseas aid spending last year to fund increases in the defence budget, prompting the resignation of Anneliese Dodds as development minister. Part of Labour's approach has been to switch focus to funding multilateral donors such as the World Bank, which it argues is a more efficient use of straitened resources. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper explained in a written statement: "In a range of countries, we will transition away from spending high levels of grant ODA, but our ambition and effort will remain high – delivering through modernised partnerships, and making the most of what the UK has to offer."
Charity Concerns
Charities warn that the scale of reduction in direct support will jeopardise vital projects. Lisa Wise, director of global outcomes at Save the Children, said: "Today's international budget allocations reflect what we already know – reductions in public investment in countries and children that need it most. These choices send a global message about the role the UK wants to play on the international stage."
Political Context
The next steps for Labour's development policy will fall to the incoming prime minister Andy Burnham's pick for foreign secretary. Energy secretary Ed Miliband is seen as a likely contender. Some MPs have urged Burnham to restore the party's leadership on development, including setting a path back towards spending 0.7% of national income on overseas aid. The UK takes on the chair of the G20 next year, and Greenhill urged the new PM and foreign secretary to use that role "to champion the global reforms needed to address poverty and inequality among the world's marginalised communities."
Development minister Jenny Chapman defended the cuts, stating: "The world has changed. Crises in one part of the world now affect us all. We're not turning away from these challenges. We're making every pound of UK development spending work harder, for people facing the toughest crises and for taxpayers at home."
