Tuesday, August 24, 2021
UK foreign aid cuts hurting the world's poorest
The Guardian reports on the view of experts that the UK foreign aid cuts will have “devastating” consequences at a time when major recipient countries are at risk of becoming more politically unstable.
They say thousands of activities providing life-saving support are being cut due to the government’s decision to reduce aid spending to 0.5% of gross national income:
Guardian analysis of the five largest recipients of these aid activities shows that four countries – Afghanistan, Yemen, Nigeria and Ethiopia – score worse in a “fragile states index” today than they did 15 years ago, while only one country, Pakistan, had become less politically fragile.
These cuts – at a time when recipient countries are facing increases in fragility – have led to warnings of further economic damage, regional instability and increases in violence.
Initiatives that have been confirmed as cancelled include an education scheme for child labourers in Bangladesh, a conflict resolution project in Nigeria and a programme aimed at preventing violence against women and girls in Malawi, according to global development news outlet Devex, which has tracked the cuts.
But the proposed scale of the foreign aid cuts – from 0.7% to 0.5% of gross national income at the same time as the economy has shrunk – means that experts are worried that few areas will remain untouched.
Data from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office shows the scale and breadth of the UK’s 2019 aid spending, contributing to more than 150 countries and covering a variety of sectors.
Mark Miller, the director of development and public finance at the Overseas Development Institute, warned: “No area of spending has been spared. Even in so-called priority areas, large cuts are being made.”
From assisting terrorism victims in Nigeria and tackling epidemics across the African continent to providing shelter to Rohingya refugees and aid to desperate Syrians, government data shows how the £15bn budget was spent in 2019.
These cuts are in danger of exacerbating terrorism and reducing the UK's influence in the world. Surely the lesson of the debacle in Afghanistan is that we need to be engaging in nation-building so as to reduce the influence of extremists, not pulling up the drawbridge.
They say thousands of activities providing life-saving support are being cut due to the government’s decision to reduce aid spending to 0.5% of gross national income:
Guardian analysis of the five largest recipients of these aid activities shows that four countries – Afghanistan, Yemen, Nigeria and Ethiopia – score worse in a “fragile states index” today than they did 15 years ago, while only one country, Pakistan, had become less politically fragile.
These cuts – at a time when recipient countries are facing increases in fragility – have led to warnings of further economic damage, regional instability and increases in violence.
Initiatives that have been confirmed as cancelled include an education scheme for child labourers in Bangladesh, a conflict resolution project in Nigeria and a programme aimed at preventing violence against women and girls in Malawi, according to global development news outlet Devex, which has tracked the cuts.
But the proposed scale of the foreign aid cuts – from 0.7% to 0.5% of gross national income at the same time as the economy has shrunk – means that experts are worried that few areas will remain untouched.
Data from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office shows the scale and breadth of the UK’s 2019 aid spending, contributing to more than 150 countries and covering a variety of sectors.
Mark Miller, the director of development and public finance at the Overseas Development Institute, warned: “No area of spending has been spared. Even in so-called priority areas, large cuts are being made.”
From assisting terrorism victims in Nigeria and tackling epidemics across the African continent to providing shelter to Rohingya refugees and aid to desperate Syrians, government data shows how the £15bn budget was spent in 2019.
These cuts are in danger of exacerbating terrorism and reducing the UK's influence in the world. Surely the lesson of the debacle in Afghanistan is that we need to be engaging in nation-building so as to reduce the influence of extremists, not pulling up the drawbridge.
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It has been noticed in Johnsons thoughts ( one being his silence on the £20 U C increase or not). It implies at cuts will be to 'encourage' self reliance,extreme libertarianism under the guise that the economy is in trouble.
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