Reinstate UK Aid

There couldn’t be a worse moment for the UK government to cut aid spending and step back from their commitments to international development. Following the Trump administration’s careless dismantling of USAID, health systems around the world are at breaking point, human rights are being rolled back, and life-saving development programmes have ground to a halt. It is the poorest people and communities who will pay the price, from women on the frontline of the climate crisis in Senegal to survivors of gender-based violence in Afghanistan.

While we recognise that the UK government is having to navigate difficult choices ...

There couldn’t be a worse moment for the UK government to cut aid spending and step back from their commitments to international development. Following the Trump administration’s careless dismantling of USAID, health systems around the world are at breaking point, human rights are being rolled back, and life-saving development programmes have ground to a halt. It is the poorest people and communities who will pay the price, from women on the frontline of the climate crisis in Senegal to survivors of gender-based violence in Afghanistan.

While we recognise that the UK government is having to navigate difficult choices and make many hard decisions, cuts to reproductive health shouldn’t be one of them. UK aid spending to support women and girls is almost half of what it was pre-pandemic, and further cuts will put lives at risk and undo decades of progress.

The UK has been a proud defender and supporter of sexual and reproductive health and rights and are one of the few governments who are willing to speak out on these issues. In these unprecedented times, UK global leadership is needed more than ever.

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Ask your MP to support UK Aid

If you're based in the UK, please email your MP and ask them to support international aid:

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Subject:

As one of your constituents, I’m writing to express my deep concern at the UK government’s shameful decision to cut Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.5% to 0.3% of Gross National Income, reducing the UK’s aid budget to its lowest level in 25 years.

This catastrophic move will have devastating consequences for the world’s poorest communities battling with food shortages, drought and conflict. The impact will be particularly brutal for women and girls who are already bearing the brunt of inequality, poverty and the climate crisis, from the women on the frontlines of the climate crisis, who are losing access to reproductive healthcare, to girls facing sexual violence in humanitarian and conflict zones across the world.

With USAID slashed by the US Administration there couldn’t be a worse time to cut UK aid. Rather than standing firm in the face of growing global challenges, this decision will damage the UK’s long-standing leadership in international development and have serious implications for the UK’s reputation as a trusted and reliable partner.

Lives will be lost:

Our development spend is so small that this cut will not be enough to fund the defence increase needed – and yet it will make a huge difference to the communities impacted. There is no ambiguity: this decision will result in thousands of preventable deaths, denying millions of women and girls’ access to lifesaving healthcare. USAID cuts have already severely impacted the global humanitarian and aid system. If the UK follows suit, it will further jeopardise efforts to strengthen health systems and increase the threat of a global public health crisis.

Undermining the UK’s Global Reputation:

UK aid has already faced severe cuts under the previous government, with the ringfenced international aid budget reduced from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5% in 2021, with cuts disproportionately impacting women and girls.

There is no democratic mandate for these cuts; The Labour party’s 2024 general election manifesto pledged to restore funding to 0.7% of GNI when economic circumstances allowed. While recognising that the Chancellor has difficult decisions to make, at a time when trust in public institutions and politicians is falling, it is vital that governments honour their promises and govern with long term accountability. Now is the time to reaffirm commitments to women and girls, not step away.

A Direct Threat to UK Security and Stability:
 
International development is not just lifesaving humanitarian aid—it is an investment for UK taxpayers in global stability, and economic growth.  For example, reproductive health programmes that support girls to stay in school strengthen local economies in the longer term.  Now more than ever, the ripple effect of aid and so-called ‘soft power’ cannot be separated from security and defence. Investing in security and prosperity abroad makes us safer and more prosperous at home.

As my MP, I ask that you:
1.	Speak out against these cuts by raising concerns in Parliament and asking the Government to ringfence support to existing programmes that support women and girls. For example, the groundbreaking Women's Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) programme, which is providing lifesaving healthcare to over 2.6 million marginalised women and girls and strengthening health systems across Africa.
2.	Submit parliamentary questions and challenge the government on the impact of these reductions on women and girls. 
3.	Write to the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary urging them to reverse this decision before it causes irreversible harm.
4.	Let me know your position and what you can do.

The UK has the resources, expertise and influence to remain a champion for women and girls. We must not turn our backs on those who need our support the most.

I look forward to your response on how you will stand up against these cuts and protect the UK’s commitment to international development.

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