From Women s Health to Yemen Crisis: 6 Key Issues Hit by UK Aid Cuts globalcitizen.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from globalcitizen.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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The UK government has been accused of “using tactics reminiscent of the Trump era” after cutting millions in aid for family planning.
Boris Johnson’s government is set to slash its commitment to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) by 85% – from an expected contribution of £154m to just £23m – in an enormous blow for women and girls in the poorest countries where health services have already been decimated by COVID-19.
News of the cuts, which were announced earlier this week, has left aid leaders seething. “By breaking its manifesto commitments with tactics reminiscent of the Trump era, the UK government will undo years of progress and investment,” Alvaro Bermejo, the director general of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF).
Yemen
The first high-profile funding cut, with UK humanitarian aid reduced from £197m pledged in 2020 to £87m this year.
Syria
UK humanitarian funding halved from £400m in 2019 to a minimum of £205m this year. Care UK was told that funding for its Syrian food, job and protection programme had been cut by two-thirds. Save the Children said humanitarian aid had been £1.6bn in 2019-20, cut to £906m this year.
Polio
UK funding for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative reduced from £100m to £5m. The UK pledged £400m towards polio eradication in 2019 to fund vaccines and distribution.
Malaria
End of drug treatments as part of the Ascend neglected tropical diseases programme and cuts to research funding at Imperial College London into infectious diseases such as malaria.
Island FM Last week, the UK government announced that it would be cutting its annual foreign aid commitment.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab set out the allocation for the UK s Official Development Assistance spending for 2021-22 at 0.7% to 0.5% of gross national income.
Following the announcement, 200 UK charities and aid organisations accused the government of delivering a tragic blow to the world s most marginalised people.
Four aid charities operating in Lebanon, Zambia, Congo and Sierra Leone spoke to Sky News about the impact these cuts will have on their work.
Rami Shamma, World Vision, Lebanon Let s see what surprises we have today, and which part of our lives will be destroyed.
This article is available in English and Japanese.
29 April 2021
The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has been informed that the UK government has made significant cuts to the UK aid budget, including allocated funding for vital sexual and reproductive health services. The brutal cuts are a tragic blow for the world s poorest and most marginalized women and girls.
The significant loss of funding for IPPF – totalling around £72 million (approximately $100 million USD) – will mean massive reductions to the UK s flagship WISH (Women s Integrated Sexual Health) programme and the closure of services in four countries. This initiative delivers life-saving contraception and sexual and reproductive health services for women and girls in some of the world s poorest and most marginalized communities.