Statement: Action for Global Health Calls for ‘Immediate Reversal’ of UK Aid Cut
Action for Global Health calls on the Prime Minister to immediately reverse today’s devastating announcement of the cut to UK aid spending from 0.5% of GNI to 0.3%, to prevent harming the lives of millions of people around the world and at home. Cutting the UK’s aid budget to increase defence spending is an extraordinarily short-sighted decision, and a destructive and dehumanising example of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Peace and security for the UK are only attainable when defence and development work hand in hand. Closing programmes around the world that tackle the spread of diseases, the climate crisis, extreme poverty and food insecurity will undoubtedly lead to further global instability – an outcome at complete odds with the Prime Minister’s stated intentions.
Investments in global health and development are investments in our national security and protect the health, security and prosperity of people in the UK and around the world. Diseases do not respect borders and will bring entire economies to a standstill. We learnt this lesson the hard way in the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Similarly, the climate crisis will not wait until the UK feels in a position to resume aid spending. Climate impacts – such as wildfires, storms, drought, heatwaves – have huge consequences for the immediate health and stability of communities everywhere, leading to increased disease, injuries and disability, disruption to essential medicine supplies, and contributing to displacement and conflict.
The timing of this decision could not be worse. Recent US Executive Orders – including the USAID Stop-Work Order, the reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule and the US withdrawal from the World Health Organization – have had a severe impact on health and development programmes. From halting efforts to battle a deadly Marburg outbreak in Tanzania, to cutting off maternal care in Afghanistan, years of progress have been undone in a matter of weeks, inflicting severe harm on people’s health and lives. This is resulting in acute insecurity at local, national and regional levels. Withdrawing from efforts to tackle key global challenges and support marginalised communities around the world will further exacerbate an already desperate situation.
Today’s cuts are an additional blow to the UK’s already decimated approach to development. In 2021, the UK vastly and suddenly reduced funding from 0.7% to 0.5% of GNI. Clinics closed and projects stopped, leaving thousands of people unable to access health services provided just the day before. Cuts to health programmes led to increases in the deaths of mothers, newborns and children, increased transmission of communicable diseases, reduced access to sexual and reproductive health care services, increases in poor water, sanitation and hygiene, weakened health systems globally, and severely reduced research on global health threats.
Member Quotes:
Adrian Lovett, UK Executive Director at ONE, said:
“The UK’s aid programme is a set of commitments to partners around the world. Deep and sudden cuts will create huge problems for the delivery of vital health services, humanitarian assistance and programmes to deal with the impact of conflict and climate change.
The devastating impacts of cuts will hurt some of the world’s most vulnerable people – and it will make Britain weaker too.
The government must look at other ways to fund this.”
Katie Husselby, Director of Action for Global Health, said:
“Today’s decision is a catastrophic blow to the health of people in the UK and globally. We have already seen the devastation caused by previous cuts to the UK’s aid budget and the USAID ‘stop-work’ order, leading to the preventable deaths of people all around the world.
Cuts to UK aid undermine efforts to achieve international stability, which in turn fuels further conflict. These budget decisions should not be a case of ‘either or’.
We call on the Prime Minister to recognise that overcoming global challenges – such as global health risks or tackling the climate crisis – is critical to achieving peace and security. Any other approach will be destructive in the short and long term.”
Ben Simms, CEO of Global Health Partnerships (formerly THET), said:
“The reduction in the official development assistance (ODA) budget announced by the Prime Minster today is deeply regrettable. While we recognise the challenging national security environment, cutting the UK aid budget at this time will damage relationships with the UK’s partners, reduce our soft power and diminish our reputation on the world stage.
Crucially, cutting ODA further risks reducing our ability to act collectively to tackle the big challenges in health – the challenges which threaten our own security, but also require collective responses as we have seen with COVID-19. Our own experience at Global Health Partnerships (formerly THET) has shown us just how much learning there is to be gained from those partners by an NHS looking to innovate and do more with less.
The impacts of the announcement today are not yet entirely clear, but it is imperative that health spending becomes a larger proportion of the ODA budget to safeguard health security in the UK and globally.
Investing in global development is not only the right thing to do, but also the smart thing to do. Through the wise use of UK aid, the root causes of conflict, instability, and disease can be tackled before they become global threats. Stronger health systems and economies abroad mean greater security at home, while fostering partnerships that enhance the UK’s global influence and protect our national interests.
I urge the Prime Minister to re-consider his announcement today. Investment in UK aid and defence should go hand-in-hand as the prudent use of UK aid contributes to our national security and the security of our global community.”
Alison Marshall, CEO of Age International, said:
“This reduction in Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending will come at the cost of those who are most at risk and most vulnerable to poverty and conflict across the globe, including older people. We urge the UK Government to reconsider how it finances the increase of defence spending and to maintain its investment in the fundamental building blocks of international cooperation, as captured in the UN Sustainable Development Goals which a previous UK Government helped to create.”
Mike Podmore, CEO of STOPAIDS, said:
“The announcement by the UK government that it will cut ODA from 0.5% to 0.3% of GNI in 2027 is a devastating betrayal of the most marginalised around the world at their greatest time of need. As the world has been taking stock of the terrible impact of the cuts to overseas aid by the U.S administration, it is essential that the UK and other donors send a clear message that they will not turn away. Instead this decision will be heard as a resounding abandonment of all those most in need.”
Paul Sommerfeld, Executive Trustee, TB Alert, said:
“This is so sad. The UK was for years a leader in development assistance. Now, after a big cut by the last government, another 40% is going in order to fund an increase in defence spending. We had hoped that the commitment to improving lives and health across the world was stronger than this!”