Reaction: UK aid cuts impact – issues of life and death appear to be ‘of no importance’

Date: 2 August 2023

In response to today’s published FCDO Equality Impact Assessment from the International Development Committee, on the impact of UK foreign aid cuts, Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now said:

“This report shows that the government understands their politically driven cuts to the aid budget will have atrociously inhumane effects – leading to wholly avoidable deaths amongst some of the most marginalised groups in the world. But issues of life and death appear to be of no importance next to their desire to cling on to a few marginal seats at the next election.

“The government claims that there are not enough funds to meet our obligations – yet they are happy to hemorrhage money, effectively subsidising multinational corporations and climate polluters by refusing to make them pay their fair share of tax. While aid is not a magical answer to all of the world’s problems – for example, it’s scandalous the government pours aid money into private hospitals and schools which routinely fail the majority – in a world as grossly unequal as ours, redistribution of wealth is vital. Rather than cutting the aid budget, we need to transform our understanding of aid as “charity” or a “nice thing to do”. In reality, it is a matter of justice and fairness.”

ENDS

Global Justice Now is a UK-based campaigning organisation for social and environmental justice.