Cuts in development aid have consequences

After severe cuts in the Boris Johnson era, British development minister Mitchell could again slowly increase aid to Africa. This has consequences for many needy people and projects.

GGreat Britain will not regain its position as the leading Western donor of international development aid in the coming year. This emerges from the budgets for humanitarian aid and development cooperation and from reports by the responsible minister, Andrew Mitchell. Mitchell recently acknowledged that the budget for bilateral development assistance in particular needs to deal with a “huge hit” in the current 2023/24 financial year. The stipend can be increased again only in the coming financial year.

The UK development aid budget, which has been on target at 0.7 per cent of GDP since 2016, has been cut to 0.5 per cent from 2020/21 in the wake of the pandemic. Spending on developing countries has also come under pressure, as the budget must fund the accommodation and integration of asylum seekers and refugees in Great Britain. At the same time, the political status of development aid was weakened by the merger of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s independent department into the British Foreign Office in 2020.