Ministers are trying to bury the consequences of UK aid cuts

"The Pandemic Fund was set up in the wake of the Covid-19 emergency as the world recognised we are dangerously unprepared for the next big global health threat and it boasted enthusiastic support from the UK. No longer. Similarly, our country proudly funded the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which is winning the war to stamp out a devastating disease that paralyses children. Now that money will stop."

"I never thought I would see the day when a Labour government pulled out of projects to prevent pandemics and polio, but that is now revealed as the shocking fallout from the decision to slash 40 per cent from the UK's international development budget. Ministers have done their best to bury the full truth, in an equality impact assessment scandalously lacking in detail."

The UK government has significantly reduced its international development budget by 40%, resulting in withdrawal from critical global health initiatives including the Pandemic Fund and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. This decision impacts vulnerable populations in countries like Sierra Leone and Malawi, where approximately 250,000 young people will lose access to family planning services. The government has provided limited transparency through an equality impact assessment lacking sufficient detail. This represents a departure from previous UK commitments to international health security and disease prevention, occurring at a time when vaccination rates are declining and global pandemic preparedness remains inadequate.

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