The UK government has announced a 40% cut to its foreign aid budget, reducing spending from 0.5% to 0.3% of Gross National Income by 2027, equating to roughly £6 billion.

The deepest reductions, outlined in a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) report, will hit African nations hardest, with significant implications for health, education, and humanitarian programs.

Key Impacts and Affected Countries

1. Health and Education Cuts: The FCDO projects a 46% reduction in health spending, dropping from £975 million to £527 million in 2025/26, risking increased disease and mortality, particularly among women, children, and people with disabilities. Education, gender, and equality programs face a 42% cut, with girls’ education funding nearly halved to £186 million. For instance, the closure of a girls’ education program in the Democratic Republic of Congo will negatively affect 170,000 children in post-conflict areas
2. Disproportionate cuts to African nations: Bilateral aid to Africa will decrease by 12%, from £1.6 billion to £1.4 billion. Countries such South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan (among others) grappling with humanitarian crises, face significant reductions. Sudan, despite being in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, will see its aid drop from £146 million to £120 million.
3. Women & Children Hit Hardest: Cuts to sexual and reproductive health and the Ending Preventable Deaths Support Programme will exacerbate risks for women and newborns. Charities like Unicef have labeled the cuts “deeply short-sighted,” warning of a “devastating and unequal impact” on vulnerable populations.
4. Shift to Multilateral Funding: While bilateral aid to specific African countries is slashed, the UK is prioritizing multilateral organizations, committing £1.8 billion to the World Bank’s International Development Association and supporting the Gavi vaccine alliance. Critics argue this shift reduces direct support to Africa’s most marginalized communities.

Criticism and Long-Term Concerns:

Aid organizations, including Bond and Unicef have criticized the cuts stating that they disproportionately harm the world’s poorest, particularly in conflict zones.

Gideon Rabinowitz of Bond said: “the world’s most marginalized communities, particularly women and girls, will pay the highest price.”

The cuts follow a trend of reductions since 2020, with bilateral aid to countries like Ethiopia and Sudan already significantly reduced in recent years. Combined with the U.S.’s recent aid cuts, experts warn of a broader Western retreat from global development, potentially allowing powers like China to fill the gap.