NGOs and MPs Demand Accountability as UK Aid Cuts Threaten Global Development and Stability

Cut to slash UK aid will "disgrace Labour's record on global development" say NGO bosses in letter to PM and Treasury. February 27, 2025

138 NGO leaders across the UK, including Save the Children UK, Oxfam GB, World Vision UK, ONE, Christian Aid, Action Aid UK, Islamic Relief, Amref UK and CAFOD, signed an open letter to the PM and Treasury, calling on the PM to reverse its decision to cut the UK aid budget, which would result in the shutdown of programs that support poor people in poverty, conflict and climate change.

They claim the move will "obliterate Labour's legacy on international development" and leave the "government's hopes to be a trusted development partner around the world in shambles."

The letter goes on:

"As 138 leaders of the UK INGO sector, tackling emergency humanitarian crises and contributing to global development, we are appalled by the recent decision to cut UK aid to pay for defence spending.". It is appalling that the UK is copying the US and has adopted the illusion of cutting already diminished UK aid to fund defence. We implore you to reconsider this move before permanent damage is done to both the UK's development and humanitarian programs and its global standing.

"No government should balance its books on the backs of the world's most marginalised people.". Previous British aid cuts and the current American aid freeze already showed their impact: children can be denied a vaccine, girls might lose their access to schooling, and refugee camp health facilities are being scaled back. This will also destroy Labour's record on international development and will reduce your manifesto commitments and the government's ambition to be a reliable development partner on the world stage to tatters.

The slashes follow the US government putting in place its 90-day suspension of humanitarian aid and development as it ripples into the industry and has HIV vaccine trials in South Africa put on hold and HIV medicines running low in Uganda, food and shelter programs for refugees reduced or suspended.

The letter goes on to say:

We know that the safety and security of the British people should always be the government's priority. But it is strategically and morally incorrect to utilize the UK aid budget to achieve this. UK aid, which is little more than 1p in every £1 of public spending, earns a huge return on investment.". It brings peace and prevents conflict and instability, forced migration, access to clean water and sanitation, and prevents the spread of diseases like COVID – which would be cost-saving in the long term, and a safer, healthier and more prosperous world for all of us in the UK and globally. We know from what we learned through the pandemic, viruses do not respect borders. By making these cuts today you’re weakening already fragile health systems, putting us all at risk of the next global outbreak.”

The sector, and MPs from both sides of the house, are calling on the PM and Treasury to make a statement to Parliament, outlining whether the impact of these cuts has been taken into account and asking if other means of funding were explored before it was determined to reduce support to those who need it most.

Romilly Greenhill, Bond's Chief Executive, the UK network for NGOs said:

 
“We’re appalled that the government has decided to enact cuts which will devastate the UK’s development and humanitarian work supporting communities around the world, its global reputation and the UK’s own national security interests. The government needs to urgently publish an impact assessment explaining whether the impact of these cuts has been thought through and which alternative sources of funding were explored before deciding to remove support to those who need it most. These cuts are going to have a direct and devastating impact on the most marginalised communities in the lowest-income countries. The government needs to explain how it intends to support people facing poverty, conflict, and climate change and honour its existing global commitments.”

Martin Drewry CEO of Health Poverty Action (HPA) said:

“Just when millions are reeling from the loss of USAID, with lifesaving supplies and medication stopped overnight, the UK government chooses to do similar.  The UK should be showing leadership – stepping up, not down. Shame on the UK government.” 

Adrian Lovett, UK Executive Director at ONE, said: 

“The UK’s aid programme is a set of commitments to partners around the world. Deep and sudden cuts will create huge problems for the delivery of vital health services, humanitarian assistance and programmes to deal with the impact of conflict and climate change. 

The devastating impacts of cuts will hurt some of the world’s most vulnerable people – and it will make Britain weaker too.  The government must look at other ways to fund this.” 

Katie Husselby, Director of Action for Global Health, said: 

“The government’s decision is a catastrophic blow to the health of people in the UK and globally. We have already seen the devastation caused by previous cuts to the UK’s aid budget and the USAID ‘stop-work’ order, leading to the preventable deaths of people all around the world.  

UK cuts in aid undermine efforts towards creating worldwide stability, which subsequently fuels more conflict. Such spending decisions should not be an 'either or' option.

We call on the Prime Minister to accept that the resolution of global issues – for instance, global health crises or dealing with the climate emergency – is critical to the achievement of peace and security. Any other policy will be disastrous in the short and long term.

Halima Begum, Oxfam GB Chief Executive, stated:“We understand that defence spending has become a major concern in our fast-changing worldBut cutting already pitiful aid budgets is a false economy and will only increase division, and it is a betrayal of the poorest citizens of the world. It is a false alternative to present international cooperation in combating poverty and national security concerns as a form of withholding tax.

"These cuts are an affront to the Labour Government's professed dedication to stand in solidarity with the Global South and to its vow to the British people in its manifesto. The aid budget, as Conservative and Labour Ministers have already conceded, is an investment.". It would be easy to yield to populist pressures, but true leadership is adhering to our vision of global justice and demonstrating the way in which Britain can be a force for good in the world."