Policy Updates

On December 9, 2024, UK Minister for International Development Anneliese Dodds stated that economic growth is at the core of development, announcing measures to drive growth in Malawi and Zambia.

Anneliese Dodds plans to announce a package of educational support in Malawi and measures to drive green growth in Zambia. Funding will provide GBP39 million (US$50 million) over five years and will ensure every student has workbooks, teachers receive on-going coaching and learning is accessible to children with disabilities.

She reaffirms the UK’s commitment to the UK-Zambia Green Growth Compact with an aim to drive GBP2.5 billion (US$3.2 billion) of UK private investment into green projects in Zambia and commit to greater UK support to the Zambian energy sector.

Developing education will help to boost economic ties between the UK and Malawi and unlock the potential of women and girls to tackle inter-generational poverty and create their own businesses.

The program aims to accelerate learning, doubling the number of children with basic mathematics skills by age 10, and aims to reach 1,500 secondary schoolgirls with scholarships and mentorships.

On November 26, 2024, Unicef released a report asserting that the UK currently has no strategy to deliver assistance for children after years of spending cuts disproportionate to those inflicted on other sectors.

UNICEF criticized the UK and claimed the country has lost its position as a children’s rights and well-being leader after a decade of Conservative governments and massive 2021 budget cuts.

The report stated that the share of UK bilateral assistance focused on children fell from 30% to 18% between 2016 and 2022, while the proportion spent on education over the same period plunged from 11% to 4%.

The study, titled Leave No Child Behind: Analysing the cuts to UK child-focused aid stated that while children appear as beneficiaries within sectors such as health and education, there is no strategy for the UK’s work in this area.

The study forecasted that ODA would remain at the same levels as the Conservative government, keeping ODA at 0.5% of the GNI instead of 0.7%.

On the November 17, 2024, the UK announced a major assistance increase of GBP113 million (US$146 million) for people in Sudan and those who have fled to neighboring countries.

The new GBP113 million (US$146 million) assistance package, which doubles the UK’s ODA commitment to Sudan and the region this year, will assist over 600,000 people in Sudan and 700,000 people in neighboring countries who have fled the conflict, including Chad and South Sudan.

Funding announced includes GBP44 million (US$57 million) for Sudan and GBP70 million (US$90 million) of support for countries affected by the conflict including Chad, Uganda, and Libya.

Education Cannot Wait will receive support to provide safe learning spaces and psychosocial support for 200,000 vulnerable children in refugee and host communities in Chad, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, Central African Republic and Uganda.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy will call for the Adre border crossing to remain open indefinitely, for immediate action to end the violence, and a draft UN Security Council resolution introduced to push for the protection of civilians and an unrestricted passage of assistance.

On September 27, 2024, the UK government released its final ODA statistics, which showed that the UK ODA budget rose by 20% between 2022 and 2023 to reach GBP15. 3 billion (US$ 18.3 billion), 0.58% ODA/GNI.

A large share of UK ODA was spent on housing refugees inside the UK, with GBP4.3 billion (US$5.2 billion) or 28% of the UK ODA budget in 2023. The statistics also show that there was a significant increase in the share of UK ODA spent via multilateral organizations, which rose from GBP3.1 billion (US$3.7 billion) in 2022 to GBP5.4 billion (US$6.5 billion) in 2024, predominately due to a large payment to the World Bank’s IDA.

UK bilateral ODA spend was GBP10 billion (US$12 billion), 65% of total UK ODA, and UK core funding to multilateral organizations was GBP5.3 billion (US$6.4 billion), 35% of total UK ODA.

In terms of top bilateral sectors, the largest amount of funding was spent on ‘Refugees in Donor Countries’ in 2023, followed by the humanitarian sector and ‘Multisector/Cross-cutting’ sector.

In terms of geographic disbursements, Africa increased its share of region-specific bilateral ODA moving to 46% (up from 42%) but the volume of funding fell marginally. The top three recipients of UK country specific bilateral ODA were Ukraine (GBP250 million/US$299 million), Ethiopia (GBP164 million/US$196 million), and Afghanistan (GBP115 million/US$137 million).

The overall increase in ODA, however, masked some significant decreases. The share of bilateral ODA received by LDCs has fallen to 47.2% in 2023 compared to 53% in 2018. Bilateral ODA to health, humanitarian, education, and water and sanitation also saw steep declines.

• Humanitarian ODA stood at GBP878 million (US$1 billion) in 2023, a fall of 21% compared to 2022, 43% since 2020 and its lowest level since 2014;
• Health ODA stood at GBP764 million (US$843 million) in 2023, a fall of 21% compared to 2022, 52% since 2020 and its lowest level since 2014;
• Education ODA stood at GBP346 million (US$414 million) in 2023, a marginal decrease compared to 2022, but a decrease of 64% since 2016 and its lowest level since 2009; and
• WASH fell to just GBP38 million (US$45 million), a decrease of 17% compared to 2020, 82% since 2018 and its lowest level since 2009.

On September 6, 2024, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy hosted a reception marking 75 years of the modern Commonwealth and called for the organization to focus on driving economic growth as well as tackling the climate crisis and education at its October Summit in Samoa.

Lammy noted that the UK considers a revived Commonwealth as vital to ensuring the government’s vision of reconnecting Britain with the world, calling on the family of nations to work together, draw on its diversity, and tackle the challenges of our time.

Lammy outlined that the Commonwealth should focus its attention on three key areas:

• Supporting economic growth: the combined GDP growth of the Commonwealth’s nations is expected to double from 2017 levels by 2027, and increasing investment flows are needed to take advantage of this. At the summit in Samoa, Lammy and other members will launch a comprehensive plan to boost investment and harness technology for all to enable shared and sustainable growth;
• Tackling the climate emergency: Lammy highlighted the need for coordinated action with partner countries to ensure a sustainable future for all. He emphasized the need to raise ambitions on the Climate Finance Access Hub and to do more to protect Small Island Developing States; and
• Boosting education: Lammy noted the importance of focusing on education. He emphasized the need to support more scholarships and learning amongst the Commonwealth nations, highlighting that 60% of the Commonwealth’s population are under 30 years old.

On August 7, 2024, UK International Development Minister Annelise Dodds pledged a US$26 million package to deliver food, water, health, education, and well-being support for Gazans during her visit to Jordan.

The package includes GBP6 million (US$8 million) in funding for UNICEF’s work to support vulnerable families in Gaza. It also hopes to support the vaccination and immunization of over 20,000 children, provide over 8,000 school-aged children with recreational activities, and help over 55,000 people in Gaza access clean water and sanitation.

Dodds also announced the allocation of GBP14 million (US$18 million) to support refugees in Jordan. GBP7 million (US$9 million) of the budget will be allocated to the UNHCR, and the remaining GBP7 million (US$9 million) to the WFP. These funds are set to be delivered in September 2024.

On August 7, 2024, BOND, the UK platform for international development NGOs, released its analysis of the FCDO’s annual accounts for FY2023/24 and confirmed a significant increase in spending on ODA from the FCDO in FY2023/24.

Excluding spending on the CSFF, FCDO’s ODA spending on programs increased just over a quarter, from GBP6.9 billion (US$8.3 billion) in FY2022/23 to GBP8.7 billion (US$10.4 billion) in FY2023/24. The split between ODA and non - ODA in the CSFF was not reported in FY2022/23.

BOND asserted that regional and bilateral spending fell in FY2023/24 by 3%, while FCDO spending on core multilateral programs increased by 79% in FY2023/24. FCDO spending also increased on climate, health, international financial institutions, and BII. FCDO spending, however, decreased in the education, gender and equality, and humanitarian, migration, and food security departments.

Looking ahead, BOND calculated that the FCDO’s overall spending, not limited to ODA, for FY2024/25 will be GBP11.8 billion (US$14.2 billion), representing a reduction of GBP552 million (US$661 million), or 4.4%, compared to the previous government’s plans for FCDO spending in FY2024/25. The overall reduction is attributed to the continued high levels of ODA spending on refugees in the UK as well as the fact that the UK ODA budget is currently expected to return to 0.5% ODA/GNI in 2024 after reaching 0.6% ODA/GNI in 2023.

BOND observed that the revised FCDO spending plans for FY2024/25 will see an increase in bilateral and central programs, but a cut in core multilateral programs. Spending on FCDO operating costs, frontline diplomacy, and overseas network will remain at similar levels.

On July 18, 2024, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, during the European Political Community Summit, announced that the UK would work with the 'Global South' to tackle irregular migration, committing GBP84 million (US$108 million) over the next three years to address the drivers of irregular migration in Africa and the Middle East.

The funding is slated to work to improve education and employment opportunities as well as help to build resilience to global shocks like conflict and climate change, which are two of the leading causes of irregular migration.

Funding which will come from the UK’s ODA budget includes:

• GBP13 million (US$15 million) to expand Migration for Development programs in North and East Africa;
• GBP21 million (US$25 million) in support for key host and transit countries, including Libya, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Chad provided via multilateral channels;
• GBP26 million (US$31 million) for the Middle East and the wider region to support Syrian refugees; and
• GBP24 million (US$29 million) in direct funding to support communities in Sudan, Chad, and Ethiopia.

On May 23-25, 2024, the G7 Ministers of Finance met at a summit in Stresa, Italy, where the ministers voiced support for contributions to the IDA, WHO, Gavi, and the Global Fund in the resulting communiqué.

The G7 ministers supported efforts towards a successful 21^st replenishment of the IDA by the end of 2024 through an ambitious policy and financing package. Notably, they did not give a concrete signal that the critical US$100 billion threshold requested by the World Bank will be crossed, nor any indication of the US$120 billion expected by African leaders.

The ministers reaffirmed their dedication to strengthening the governance and finance of the global health architecture and voiced support for refinancing processes of several GHIs, such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the WHO, and the Global Fund, and expressed support for the Pandemic Fund. The communiqué called on the donor community to coordinate efforts and increase investments in global health in line with their capacities to ensure sustainable funding and maximize the impact of available resources.

Following the summit, the C7 pointed out the G7's lack of ambition and financial commitment to international development, including climate adaptation. International civil society organizations criticized the lack of any reference to allocating SDRs to global solidarity.

On May 20, 2024, UK Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell announced that the UK will provide GBP45 million (US$54 million) to support higher education for women and girls at the Education World Forum.

The program is slated to benefit 1 million young people. Funding will be channeled with partners across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. The program will focus on removing the barriers preventing them from accessing higher education, including tackling GBV.

The initiative builds on the Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education Innovation and Reform program that began in 2016.