UK aid cuts reduce bilateral support to some African countries by 90%
8 reported
Labour’s foreign aid cuts will reduce bilateral support to some African countries by as much as 90%, according to Foreign Office figures reported by The Guardian. 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. 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. The 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. The foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, explained in a written statement that the UK will transition away from high levels of grant ODA in some countries but maintain ambition through modernised partnerships. Charities have warned that the scale of reductions will jeopardise vital projects, with Bond’s chief executive urging the incoming prime minister to use the UK’s G20 chair to address global poverty and inequality.
What’s reported
Foreign Office figures show UK aid cuts will reduce bilateral support to some African countries by as much as 90%.
Analysis by Bond shows cuts of 90% for Mozambique and Malawi by 2029, 80% for Rwanda and Sierra Leone, and 49% for Somalia.
The government reduced overseas aid spending last year to fund defence budget increases, leading to the resignation of development minister Anneliese Dodds.
The UK will shift focus to funding multilateral donors like the World Bank, which the government argues is more efficient.
Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper stated the UK will transition away from high levels of grant ODA but maintain ambition through modernised partnerships.
Save the Children’s Lisa Wise said the reductions send a global message about the UK’s role.
The UK takes on the G20 chair next year.
Development minister Jenny Chapman said the UK is making every pound of development spending work harder.
Key figures
Romilly Greenhill, chief executive of Bond
Keir Starmer, prime minister (at time of cuts)
Anneliese Dodds, former development minister
Yvette Cooper, foreign secretary
Lisa Wise, director of global outcomes at Save the Children
Andy Burnham, incoming prime minister
Ed Miliband, energy secretary and likely contender for foreign secretary
Jenny Chapman, development minister
Sources: The Guardian
