On the last day of parliament, the UK Government released its annual report and aid allocations up until 2029. Publishing decisions of this scale on the final sitting day before recess prevented meaningful and immediate parliamentary scrutiny. During its announcement, the government claims it is protecting fragile and conflict-affected countries, but these allocations tell a very different story.
We knew these cuts were coming, but we now know what this means for countries facing extreme hunger and the risk of famine.
In comparison to the pre-cut levels from 2024-25[1], the UK is deciding to cut funding in countries already facing conflict or severe food insecurity: South Sudan faces a 46% reduction, Afghanistan 39%, Somalia 49% and Mozambique 90%, while the overall bilateral regional aid budget is projected to fall by 43%. Cutting UK support by as much as 90% in some countries seriously risks accelerating hunger, malnutrition and instability precisely when international action is most urgently needed.
We cannot forget that these percentages represent people’s lives. Cuts on this scale put food assistance, nutrition programmes and essential support for refugees and crisis-affected communities at risk. Their consequences will be felt for years to come -in meals missed, treatment interrupted and lives placed in greater danger. The government’s own assessment[2] shows that hundreds of thousands of people could lose essential support in individual countries alone, with the full human impact of the cuts still unknown.
The timing is deeply disheartening. The 2026 Global Report on Food Crises found that 266 million people faced acute food insecurity in 2025, with the proportion of people affected nearly double that recorded in 2016. More than 35 million children were acutely malnourished, including almost 10 million experiencing severe acute malnutrition. Nearly half of the world’s hungry people already live in Africa, a figure expected to rise to 60 per cent by 2030.
Hunger is preventable and the consequence of political decisions but global food-crisis financing has already fallen back to levels last seen nearly a decade ago[3] and the UK has chosen to deepen that retreat. The UK is stepping back from its responsibility.
[1]FCDO annual report: UK aid funding to some African countries to be slashed by up to 90% | Bond
[2]FCDO multi-year Official Development Assistance programme allocations 2026–2027 to 2028–2029: equality impact assessment – GOV.UK
[3]Global Report on Food Crises | Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC)