Impact of UK’s overseas aid budget cuts is revealed in new report
Thousands of women in Africa will die in pregnancy and childbirth as a result of cuts to the UK’s overseas aid budget, ministers have been warned. The recent internal report released by civil servants highlights the harsh reality of government cuts to global redistribution.
Commenting on the recent report, Frances Guy, Chief Executive of Scotland’s International Development Alliance, said:
“SIDA welcomes the FCDOs step towards greater transparency, which clarifies the real impact of aid cuts on the lives of the most vulnerable. The FCDO’s own words sum up the damning reality: “large ODA reductions.. will have a disproportionate impact on those with protected characteristics, including women and girls, children, people with disabilities and older people”. The report does not quantify the effect of cutting critical support to avoid malnutrition but we should be clear that any failure to reverse the effects of malnutrition condemns a child to stunted physical and mental growth forever.
The FCDO’s commitment to restore some ODA funding in 24/25 does not come soon enough to reverse these devastating immediate impacts which are further exacerbated by the use of overseas development funds to pay for the costs of the Home Office backlog of asylum applications.”
Read more on the aid cuts below below:
- BBC NEWS – UK foreign aid cuts: Thousands will die as a result, says report
UK foreign aid cuts: Thousands will die as a result, says report – BBC News (ampproject.org) - UK Parliament – International Development Committee reveals real world impact of cuts to UK aid
International Development Committee reveals real world impact of cuts to UK aid – Committees – UK Parliament