What does UK aid do and why is it important?

Through aid, we have seen extraordinary achievements in reducing poverty, hunger, and mortality rates. More than one billion people have lifted themselves out of extreme poverty in the past 30 years. On top of that, there has been a huge decline in child deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa over the past two decades.  

The decision to cut the UK aid budget is brutal, and will have devastating and deadly consequences for people who already live in extreme poverty. We break down some of the common questions people have about aid, and the difference it makes. 

Overseas aid, known officially as Official Development Assistance (ODA), is government funding that promotes the welfare and economic development of developing countries.  

Through overseas aid, people living in countries heavily impacted by poverty, conflict, and instability can receive essential life-saving support in times of crisis including food, medicine and shelter. Aid also includes programmes that support communities to build resilience to future shocks through education and economic activities. Overtime, this can result in lasting change and lower rates of extreme poverty.  

Aid has a profound impact. While it may be difficult for some of us to imagine, people living in the countries where Concern works have faced decades of poverty. In these places, the systems that we could expect to be in place in times of crisis do not have the capacity to respond to and recover from shocks like natural disasters and conflict. 

As a major global economy and influential political actor, the UK has long been a trusted development partner. The UK has a vital role to play in addressing global inequality and poverty, which in turn contributes to greater global stability. This includes responding to emergencies and tackling extreme poverty worldwide. 

UK aid reaches people living in the poorest and most fragile communities. It saves lives by providing people with essential support such as food, medical care, and shelter. 

In the long-term it can also help countries achieve greater stability and resilience through projects such as education and livelihoods skills, reducing global rates of poverty and displacement. In 2023, the countries that received the most aid were Ukraine, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen – all countries where Concern is working. 

Projects funded by UK aid across different organisations include providing vaccines, treating children for malnutrition, supporting people fleeing conflict, running schools for children, training farmers on climate-smart practices, and so much more. 

With the rise of global conflicts and climate change disasters, we are seeing an even greater increase in the amount of people in need of humanitarian support. At a time when humanitarian crises are at an all-time high, slashing the aid budget to a record low is indefensible.   

On February 25, 2025, Keir Starmer announced a cut to the ODA budget from 0.5 percent of gross national income down to 0.3 percent, to come into effect from 2027. This decision was made in order to increase the UK’s defence spending.  

By cutting the aid budget, Starmer’s government is going back on promises made in their manifesto, which pledged to rebuild the country’s reputation on international development and reconnect with and respect development partners. Notably, the manifest stated they were “committed to restoring development spending at the level of 0.7% of gross national income as soon as fiscal circumstances allow.”  

The aid budget had already been slashed from 0.7 percent, the target amount set by the UN, down to 0.5 percent in 2020.  

Cuts to UK aid will have devastating and deadly consequences. We know that conflict and climate crises are increasing globally. Cutting aid at a time when three hundred million people need humanitarian assistance will threaten vital progress that has already been made. These cuts will worsen inequality and extreme poverty, resulting in further humanitarian needs. 

This is backed up by the government’s own assessments. In 2023, a cross-party report found that cuts to the UK’s aid budget were likely to result in thousands of preventable deaths across Africa for women during pregnancy and childbirth.  

At Concern, we have already seen firsthand how reducing the UK aid budget takes a damaging toll on the communities we work with. In 2020, our healthcare project in Bangladesh was cancelled when the ODA budget dropped to 0.5 percent. Although the project began in 2019 and funding had been promised to 2022, the government withdrew all funding with immediate effect. It is likely that the decision to stop funding this project resulted in deaths that were preventable. 

The project would have reached over 2.6 million people, including 140,000 people living with a disability. It included training for health service providers, and the provision of healthcare vouchers to ensure people could access life-saving healthcare they otherwise couldn’t afford (with a focus on children under five and pregnant women). 

These cuts are a deliberate political decision— a brutal one. But you can make a difference.  

We are calling on the UK government to urgently reverse these cuts and recommit to tackling global hunger and extreme poverty. Ask your MP to raise concern and urge an immediate review to the cuts in international aid.  

By supporting Concern, you can show solidarity with people living in extreme poverty. Help us safeguard the future of aid and ensure we can keep our life saving and life-changing programmes running for as long as they are needed.