[ad_1]
The UK aid cuts announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak could cause one million girls to lose their education, nearly three million women and children without life-saving nutrition and 5.6 million children without vaccination, it would lead to “tens of thousands” of deaths, charities aid experts and parliamentarians have said.
They described the reduction in foreign aid funding, from 0.7% to 0.5% of Britain’s gross national income, as “unprincipled, unjustified and damaging” just as a global health crisis is reversing decades of progress. in poverty, health care and education.
There was broad agreement that women and girls would be the most affected.
In April, the UN food agency warned of famines of “biblical proportions” in 2021 without billions in aid and, in August, the UN children’s agency reported that approximately 500 million children were unable to access learning due to to the coronavirus.
Jean-Michel Grand, Executive Director of Action Against Hunger, said: “We estimate that these cuts could cause up to 3 million women and children to lose access to nutrition services that often save lives. Clinics will close, nurses will lose their jobs and children will lose their lives. “
He said: “With the World Food Program warning of Biblical famines in 2021, now is not the time to turn your back on those in need. The world is crying out for global leadership and this decision sends the message that the UK does not want the job. Is this what a world-leading global Britain is supposed to look like?
The charity’s calculations were based on cuts of around 29% from Britain’s aid budget.
This week, parliamentarians from seven parties urged the government not to cut foreign aid, saying it would mean the difference between life and death for countless people.
Andrew Mitchell, a former conservative international development secretary, called the cuts “absolutely outrageous” and said that if applied across the board, they could result in one million girls being out of school and 7.6 million fewer women and girls have access to family planning and contraception. .
“Up to 5.6 million fewer children will not be vaccinated, which could lead to as many as 100,000 deaths,” Mitchell said. Another 3.8 million people could lose access to safe water. Research has shown that family planning can prevent maternal deaths.
Save the Children’s Chief Executive Officer Kevin Watkins said the chancellor’s announcement was “unprincipled, unwarranted and deeply damaging both to Britain’s reputation and, more importantly, to millions of people around the world.
“They are making these cuts in a context of unprecedented setbacks in child health, child survival, child malnutrition and education. Aid is a supportive lifeline for children around the world, ”he said.
Andrew Shepherd of the Overseas Development Institute’s (ODI) Chronic Poverty Advisory Network warned that the announcement is likely to impact aid budgets from multiple directions.
“One point to note is that in addition to the general relief program, there will be a great need for debt relief in the next period. But now debt relief starting this year is being considered as part of overseas development aid, restricting other aid. “
Combined with a falling gross national income on which the calculation is based, a percentage cut will lead to a “very substantial” and “very painful” reduction in the UK’s carefully constructed aid program, he said.
“Many of the impacts during the pandemic are being felt in middle-income countries. But the UK, like other countries, has focused more on low-income countries and has withdrawn from some middle-income countries. [countries] like India, where the impoverishing impacts of Covid are being felt. “
It could also lead to some of the “less tangible but useful programs” getting lost.
It is not clear how the cuts will fall or how long they will last. In the summer, when the government confirmed that aid would be cut by £ 2.9bn, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said it would prioritize poverty reduction for the ‘poorest billion’, in addition to addressing climate change and biodiversity loss, advocating for girls’ education. and UK leadership in the global Covid response.
Sarah Champion, chair of the international development committee, said: “The government needs to quickly clarify the impact of this on existing projects. What are the criteria for cuts; there will be impact evaluations; Will the sector or parliament be consulted?
The committee will meet in mid-December to examine the implications of reducing the commitment to official development assistance.
Katherine Nightingale, director of advocacy for Care International, said there is a possibility of loss of life.
“What I can say from our experience of aid cuts in the last year is that even promises of fencing do not mean that the world’s poorest will not feel the effects. Last week, the UN announced that 7 countries were at risk of famine. In Yemen, 80% of the country’s population, more than 24 million people, need some kind of protection and humanitarian assistance ”.
“Obviously, without any details, it is difficult to know exactly where these cuts will affect. But we can already see where the gap between need and help is growing that represents children who may not get the food or medical care they need. “
The World Bank has said that Covid means that 150 million people are at risk of extreme poverty.
Girish Menon, Director of ActionAid UK, said he was alarmed. “The reality is that tens of thousands of lives could be lost as a result of these cuts. The cuts will be greatly felt by the world’s poorest, but they will make very little difference to the public purse as they amount to just 0.2% of UK income. The UK government is not doing the right thing. “
He added: “It is essential that this reduction in the aid budget is neither long-term nor permanent. In addition to leaving millions without work, the pandemic has caused a global increase in violence against women and girls ”.
Marcus Manuel, an ODI researcher, calculated that £ 3.7 billion in foreign aid could pay for 35 million children to go to school, or 52 million people for health care.
