Knowledge Hub
One year on: UK aid cuts are leaving millions at risk
One year after the UK government's unprecedented 40% cut to international aid, the largest in its history, the consequences are becoming brutally clear.
Globally, 239 million people require urgent humanitarian assistance, but with funding cuts at such a scale, vital health, nutrition and livelihoods programmes are being forced to shut down. In Sudan, over a thousand nutrition and community feeding programmes have already closed due to reductions in aid.
We are seeing the impact most acutely on families in fragile and conflict affected countries. As funding plummets, emergency food assistance and protection services are being reduced or suspended.
In Yemen, a country experiencing one of the world’s most severe nutrition crises, global funding shortfalls have forced the closure of hundreds of essential feeding centres. Nutrition support, initially planned for 7.8 million people, now reaches just 2 million, with less than 10% of essential funding secured. Only one in four people in need are receiving life-saving assistance.
Communities who were already surviving on the brink are now being pushed even further into crisis, when support disappears, it isn’t abstract, it means empty clinics, closed classrooms, and families forced to go without food.
The situation is equally alarming in other countries. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations Humanitarian appeal is only 22% funded, leaving fewer than one in five people in need with support. In Sudan, where 20 million people require assistance, funding has dropped sharply to 35.4%, forcing families to face extreme hunger.
The human cost
The consequences of aid cuts are not abstract, they are seen in thousands of lives lost, families displaced, and communities pushed further into crisis. Women and children are most impacted and livelihoods have been decimated. Globally, reductions in humanitarian aid could result in more than 22 million avoidable deaths by 2030, including 5.4 million children under five2.
Across Yemen, DRC, Sudan, and other countries facing emergencies, families are struggling to survive without adequate food, clean water, healthcare, and protection. Organisations are being forced to scale back life-saving programmes, leaving communities more vulnerable to malnutrition, disease, and the long-term consequences of conflict. These outcomes are not inevitable; they are the direct result of political choices and underfunding.
A call for transparency
The UK has long been a global leader in humanitarian response. But at a time of escalating conflict and record levels of hunger, stepping back from that responsibility risks putting millions of lives at risk. Among G7 countries, including the US, the UK is implementing the largest aid cuts, putting even more people in crisis.
A year on, the government still lacks a clear plan for implementing these cuts in a way that minimises harm. We urgently call on them to publish a detailed strategy, showing which programmes and communities are most at risk and what steps will be taken to reduce the impact. Without transparency, aid organisations cannot plan effectively, leaving millions exposed to preventable suffering.
These aren’t just numbers, they are mothers, children, and families facing real crises every day. Immediate action is needed to ensure that UK aid continues to save lives rather than leave them at risk.
You can help make a difference. Please take action by emailing your MP today.
