LONDON: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is pushing the UK’s foreign aid resources “to breaking point” in the wake of cuts to government spending, a charity has warned.
The ONE Campaign called on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to reverse the decision to cut overseas spending to 0.5 percent of gross national income from 0.7 percent in 2020 — the equivalent of £4.5 billion ($5.9 billion) per year, citing the need to divert funds toward Ukraine and away from other hard-hit areas, which could negatively affect some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
The UK has already spent £220 million of its aid budget on Ukraine.
Romilly Greenhill, the UK director of the ONE Campaign, said that the reduction of the UK’s aid budget would prevent the government from meeting its obligations to people in the developing world.
“By keeping our aid budget unnecessarily reduced, the UK is … forcing itself into a situation where it has to choose between people in crisis,” she said. “We’re seeing a convergence of crises that mean you can’t just pick and choose which problem to deal with in a vacuum.”
Sunak had previously voiced hope that the 0.7 percent target could be restored by 2024, having made the initial cut amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The chancellor will announce a mini-budget on Wednesday, when he will be expected to assess the impact of the Ukraine war on the UK’s finances.
Greenhill, though, believed the restoration of the 0.7 percent target needed to be accelerated as a result of the war. “We’re in a different place to when the aid budget was first cut. Since the chancellor announced the cut in 2020, circumstances have changed, and the justification that was used then no longer holds.
“The government cannot deliver on its own agenda at the current budget, and with more and more spend being added, UK aid is being stretched to breaking point. It’s pushing existing anti-poverty work out.”
The ONE Campaign added that many developing countries and those in states of crisis, such as Yemen and Lebanon, would be adversely affected by the war themselves, including facing food shortages, with Ukraine and Russia among the leading exporters of grain and fertilizer to the Middle East and North Africa.
Before the Ukraine war, the NGO’s analysis said 4 million girls would lose access to education as a result of the government’s cuts, and that 1 million women and children faced malnutrition.
A spokesperson for the UK government told the Independent: “The UK has a long history of helping other countries in need and we are one of the largest aid spenders globally.
“We are leading the world in protecting people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine and have already provided £220 million in aid, including for life-saving medical supplies, shelter and hygiene kits.
“International development remains a core Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office priority and we will return to 0.7 per cent as soon as the fiscal situation allows.”
