NGOs describe 40% slash in aid budget as “nightmare scenario”.

The United Kingdom’s decision to slash its overseas aid budget by 40% has sparked alarm among humanitarian organizations, which warn of severe consequences for the world’s most vulnerable populations.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, 138 nongovernmental organizations described the cuts as a “nightmare scenario” for marginalized communities.

Announced by Starmer in Parliament last week, the reduction will lower foreign aid from 0.5% to 0.3% of British GDP by 2027 — that will amount to an annual £6 billion cut — with savings diverted to fund increased defense spending. Starmer defended the move as necessary for national and European security amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

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However, aid organizations have strongly condemned the Labour government’s decision, particularly as the U.S.

has already frozen foreign aid and dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), disrupting healthcare and education in struggling regions.

They argue that further cuts will weaken fragile health systems and heighten the risk of future global disease outbreaks. “At a time when the U.S. is pulling back, Labour should fulfill its pledge to restore the U.K.’s leadership in international development,” the letter asserts.

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In response to the cuts, Anneliese Dodds, the U.K.’s minister for international development, resigned from her post today. In her resignation letter to Starmer, she warned that the decision would deprive desperate communities of essential food and healthcare, tarnishing the U.K.’s global reputation.

“I know you do not oppose international development on principle,” she wrote, “but this move is already being seen as following President Trump’s lead in cutting USAID.”

It is unclear yet which recipient countries or programs will be cut off of British funding, or whether the constraint will be permanent or temporary. The government has already said it will prioritize "the most vital programmes in the world's worst conflict zones" such as Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan.

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