"If this was just a UK story it would be bad enough, but we are seeing it is a French story, it is a German story and a US story. All these countries are cutting. There will be a time lag but this will cost lives. We have a responsibility to protect these lives."
"On entering government, Starmer told a G20 summit in Brazil that his administration would prioritise the fight against hunger and would tackle suffering and starvation."
"But last year, Starmer announced that aid spending would be reduced to 0.3% of GDP by 2027, in order to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP in the same time frame."
UK funding to the UN World Food Programme fell from $610m in 2024 to $435m last year, a reduction of roughly one third. The government hosted a two-day conference on starvation and malnutrition in Afghanistan but made no financial pledge at the event. A government spokesperson said the UK remained the fifth largest donor to the WFP. Critics, including former Conservative aid minister Michael Bates, warned that simultaneous aid cuts across donor countries will cost lives and called the cuts hypocritical. The UK previously cut its 0.7% GNI development commitment to 0.5% and plans to lower aid to 0.3% by 2027 to boost defence spending.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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