"Lives will be lost": How the U.K.'s aid cuts may affect parts of Africa
#U.K. aid #budget cuts #Africa #humanitarian crisis #global aid #U.S. aid #development #priorities
📌 Key Takeaways
- The U.K. plans to reduce its global aid budget and shift priorities by 2027.
- Combined with existing U.S. aid cuts, these reductions are feared to be devastating for some regions.
- Countries and organizations in parts of Africa are particularly concerned about the impact.
- The cuts are expected to lead to loss of lives due to reduced humanitarian and development support.
📖 Full Retelling
In March, the UK announced it would trim its global aid budget and set new priorities in 2027. This has some countries and organizations worried that on top of the US aid cuts, this could be unsurvivable. (Image credit: Luis Tato/AFP)
🏷️ Themes
Aid Cuts, Humanitarian Impact
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Original Source
Global Health "Lives will be lost": How the U.K.'s aid cuts may affect parts of Africa April 1, 2026 3:31 PM ET Fatma Tanis People fleeing violence in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo cross into Burundi. The U.K. is set to cut aid to Africa by more than half over the next three years. Luis Tato/AFP/via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Luis Tato/AFP/via Getty Images When the Trump administration made massive cuts to U.S. foreign aid last year, Dr. Manenji Mangundu, director of Oxfam in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, thought other countries would step in to fill the funding shortfalls. Specifically, he hoped that the United Kingdom, one of the largest global donors with a long history of development work, would increase its spending. But that hasn't happened. Instead, the U.K. announced severe cuts to its own global aid spending by about 40% in February 2025. Then, in a statement to Parliament on March 19, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper provided more details, saying the U.K. had taken the "hugely difficult decision" to reduce its development budget in order to fund its defense spending. The announcement comes at a time when aid groups like Oxfam are still grappling with the effects of the U.S. aid cuts . Mangundu says the consequences of the U.K. cuts will be catastrophic. "We have no hope to reach the people who need our help," Mangundu says. Last year, the U.K. spent over the equivalent of about $100 million ( 80 million pounds ) on aid to the DRC, supporting protection for survivors of sexual violence and providing water and food to people. Mangundu says everything from environmental conservation to health care will be affected. "People will not have access to medicine. People will not have access to nurses and doctors, because the U.K. government was funding all these programs," Mangundu says, adding that education programs would also be cut, leaving around 4.5 million children at risk of losing access to schools. Since the anno...
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