MSF UK responds to UK government's reduction to aid budget
MSF is concerned about yesterday’s announcement from the UK Government which confirmed a reduction in the UK’s aid budget for the next two years.
UK aid will drop from 0.58% in 2023 to 0.5% of GNI for the next two financial years. The government has signalled its intention to reduce aid spending on asylum costs but has failed to make a tangible commitment to change the current approach of using ODA on domestic refugee costs - which represented 28% of the overall aid budget in 2023.
Dr Natalie Roberts, Executive Director of MSF UK, said “Repeated cuts by successive Governments to an already depleted aid budget has had a catastrophic impact on the health needs of people around the world.
It is therefore deeply disappointing that the UK Government has failed to commit additional funding for overseas aid in the October budget, at a time when hunger and humanitarian need is increasing. UK overseas aid must be increased, protected and directed to support the needs of the most vulnerable people living in desperate humanitarian contexts.”
MSF does not take UK government funding, but we are concerned about the impact a sustained reduction in aid could have in countries affected by conflict, natural disasters and disease outbreaks where we work.
In South Sudan, MSF teams are responding to concurrent emergencies, including severe flooding, food insecurity, disease outbreaks and a massive displacement crisis from the conflict in neighbouring Sudan, where nearly 700,000 people have crossed the border. Whilst pressure on health services and aid organisations is likely to increase, the UK has reduced its aid budget from £156 million in 2020, when it was the second largest bilateral donor, to £69 million in 2024.
The UK has slashed its aid to Yemen by over half from £221 to £101 million in 2023. This is was a country is reeling from over eight years of unrelenting conflict that has left the country’s health system in a state of near collapse. MSF teams continue to deal with complex health needs because of the war, such as malnutrition and mental health support, as well as disease outbreaks for measles, cholera and diphtheria.
Providing protection to people seeking safety in the UK is an integral part of the Government’s moral, ethical and legal responsibility and must be adequately funded. This must not come at the expense of people living in desperate humanitarian crises around the world.