{"id":2230,"date":"2026-07-16T20:16:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T20:16:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnnglobalnews.com\/2026\/07\/16\/uk-aid-cuts-reduce-bilateral-support-to-some-african-countries-by-90\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T20:16:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T20:16:25","slug":"uk-aid-cuts-reduce-bilateral-support-to-some-african-countries-by-90","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=2230","title":{"rendered":"UK aid cuts \u2018reduce bilateral support to some African countries by 90%\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"8a20b12f-b57b-4f21-bd5f-cd99c3a531fe\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A shelter tent in Mozambique with a union jack and the words 'UK aid from the British people on it' with people milling around a distribution truck in the background\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e1a3fb4ea83939622351cf31885afa78a08b846d\/500_0_2500_2000\/master\/2500.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Emergency shelter provided by the UK in Mozambique after Cyclone Idai in 2019. Bilateral support will drop 90% by 2019 as a result of foreign aid cuts.<\/span> Photograph: Rein Skullerud\/WFP\/Rein Skullerud<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"8a20b12f-b57b-4f21-bd5f-cd99c3a531fe\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Emergency shelter provided by the UK in Mozambique after Cyclone Idai in 2019. Bilateral support will drop 90% by 2019 as a result of foreign aid cuts.<\/span> Photograph: Rein Skullerud\/WFP\/Rein Skullerud<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">UK aid cuts \u2018reduce bilateral support to some African countries by 90%\u2019<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Critics say Foreign Office figures send \u2018global message about the role the country wants to play on international stage\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Labour\u2019s foreign aid cuts mean reductions of as much as 90% in the bilateral support the UK will give to some African countries, Foreign Office figures show.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The department\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/fcdo-annual-report-and-accounts-2025-to-2026\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">annual report<\/a> includes a long-awaited breakdown of how the reduction in the aid budget will affect individual countries for the next three years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Bond\u2019s chief executive, Romilly Greenhill, said: \u201cBy slashing UK aid funding to countries like Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Uganda, this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/labour\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Labour<\/a> government is abandoning communities on the frontlines of conflict and the climate crisis and risks plunging these countries\u2019 populations into poverty and instability.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Keir Starmer\u2019s government <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/2025\/feb\/25\/starmer-planning-big-cuts-to-aid-budget-to-boost-defence-spending-say-sources\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">announced deep reductions to spending on overseas aid<\/a> last year to fund increases in the defence budget, prompting the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/2025\/feb\/28\/anneliese-dodds-resigns-keir-starmer-cut-aid-budget\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">resignation of Anneliese Dodds<\/a> as development minister.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Part of Labour\u2019s approach in implementing the cuts has been to switch its focus to funding multilateral donors such as the World Bank, which it argues is a more efficient use of straitened resources.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Explaining the cuts in a written statement to parliament in March, the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: \u201cIn a range of countries, we will transition away from spending high levels of grant ODA [overseas development assistance], but our ambition and effort will remain high \u2013 delivering through modernised partnerships, and making the most of what the UK has to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Charities, however, say the scale of the reduction in direct support to individual countries will jeopardise vital projects.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The director of global outcomes at Save the Children, Lisa Wise, said: \u201cToday\u2019s international budget allocations reflect what we already know \u2013 reductions in public investment in countries and children that need it most. These choices send a global message about the role the UK wants to play on the international stage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The next steps for Labour\u2019s development policy will fall to the incoming prime minister Andy Burnham\u2019s pick for foreign secretary. The current energy secretary, Ed Miliband, is seen as a likely contender for the role.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Some MPs have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2026\/jul\/11\/labour-mps-andy-burnham-overseas-aid-development-spending-levels\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">urged Burnham to act to restore the party\u2019s leadership on development<\/a>, including by setting a path back towards the target of spending 0.7% of national income on overseas aid.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The UK takes on the chair of the G20 next year \u2013 the coordinating body that includes China, India and Brazil alongside wealthy countries in the global north.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Greenhill urged the new PM and foreign secretary to use that role \u201cto champion the global reforms needed to address poverty and inequality among the world\u2019s marginalised communities\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The development minister, Jenny Chapman, said: \u201cThe world has changed. Crises in one part of the world now affect us all.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cJust this year, conflict in the Middle East has driven up food and fertiliser costs and the Ebola outbreak that began in the DRC is an urgent reminder why global health security matters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cWe\u2019re not turning away from these challenges. We\u2019re making every pound of UK development spending work harder, for people facing the toughest crises and for taxpayers at home.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/politics\/foreignpolicy\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Foreign policy<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/politics\/foreign-commonwealth-and-development-office\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/global-development\/aid\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Aid<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/politics\/labour\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Labour<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/society\/charities\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Charities<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/africa\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Africa<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=UK%20aid%20cuts%20%E2%80%98reduce%20bilateral%20support%20to%20some%20African%20countries%20by%2090%%E2%80%99&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/2026\/jul\/16\/uk-aid-cuts-bilateral-support-african-countries?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fpolitics%2F2026%2Fjul%2F16%2Fuk-aid-cuts-bilateral-support-african-countries&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=politics\/2026\/jul\/16\/uk-aid-cuts-bilateral-support-african-countries\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1kq7f60\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Emergency shelter provided by the UK in Mozambique after Cyclone Idai in 2019. Bilateral support will drop 90% by 2019 as a result of foreign aid cuts. Photograph: Rein Skullerud\/WFP\/Rein &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=2230\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2230\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}