UK Aid to Many Commonwealth Nations Set to Fall by Three Quarters
Analysis seen by the Guardian shows UK funding to former bilateral aid recipients in the Commonwealth dropping from £546m to £131m by 2028-29, as leaders meet in Antigua.
The UK has cut overseas aid to Commonwealth countries sharply, the Guardian reports. This comes in the same week King Charles and prime minister Andy Burnham spoke warmly of the group.
Nature money cut off
Experts told the Guardian that nature funding has been particularly hard hit. Many Commonwealth countries have had their aid slashed and have also been barred from applying to the Darwin Initiative. At least 26 of them cannot receive money from the longstanding stream, worth about £40m a year.
Adrian Gahan, UK lead at the Campaign for Nature charity, pointed to the king's attendance at the launch of the Commonwealth nature initiative this week. "Yet the UK government failed to make a financial contribution," he said. He also noted that the UK's Caribbean Development Team will see its funding cut by more than half between this year and next.
Poorest countries not spared
The government has been trimming aid to fast-developing countries now judged middle income, such as India and Antigua. The Commonwealth cuts go further. They hit countries still among the poorest, and many that carry heavy debt.
Sierra Leone, one of the world's least developed countries, will see aid fall from nearly £30m in 2024-25 to £5m in 2028-29. Next week the UK and Sierra Leone act as co-conveners of a strand of talks at the Cop31 climate summit in Turkey, on adapting to the impacts of the climate crisis.
The numbers, country by country
The analysis covers recent and projected figures. Funding for Commonwealth nations that used to have bilateral aid programmes goes from £546m in 2024-25 to £131m in 2028-29. Nigeria accounts for £68m of the 2028-29 sum, which leaves £63m for the other countries.
Nigeria remains one of the biggest destinations, though its allocation is scheduled to drop from £137m this year. Rwanda's falls from nearly £30m to £5m over the same period as Sierra Leone's. Tanzania is cut from £60m in 2025-26 to £5m in 2028-29. The Caribbean Development Team goes from more than £98m in 2025-26 to £45m in 2026-27.
The summit in Antigua
The Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) in Antigua is set to end on Wednesday. At it, the king said it was only right to acknowledge the great suffering and injustices of slavery. Burnham's government fought to keep any discussion of reparations off the agenda.
Jean McLean, Oxfam GB's chief influencing officer, said the cuts will not be felt in Westminster but by families short of food, children without healthcare or schooling, and communities hit by conflict and climate disasters. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been approached for comment.
Our View
The figures separate two things often discussed together: gestures at a summit and the budget lines that follow. The office's reply is the missing piece. Until it explains the figures, it is unclear whether the projections are final or open to change.
Source: The Guardian