UK to cut aid to fragile states by up to 83%

Britain is cutting bilateral aid to several fragile and conflict-affected countries by more than 40%, with some of the largest reductions set to affect Somalia, South Sudan, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone, according to government figures cited by Financial Times.

The cuts come as the UK reduces its development budget from 0.5% to 0.3% of gross national income, following a decision by then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer to redirect funding towards higher defence spending.

Bilateral aid to Somalia is expected to fall by 49% between 2024-25 and 2028-29, while funding for South Sudan will decline by 46%. Aid to Sierra Leone is projected to drop by 83%, and assistance to the Democratic Republic of Congo by 29%.

Other fragile states will also face significant reductions. Bilateral aid to Afghanistan is set to fall by 39%, while aid to Syria is projected to decline by 55% over the same period.

Overall, UK spending on bilateral aid programmes is expected to fall by 43%, from £3.14 billion in 2024-25 to £1.79 billion in 2028-29.

The UK government acknowledged in March that Africa and the Middle East would bear a significant share of the cuts to official development assistance (ODA), although detailed country-level figures were published only recently.

Aid organisations and campaigners have warned that the reductions could have a disproportionate impact on some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries.

Government figures also show that the reduction in overall ODA spending during 2025 was larger than initially forecast. The Treasury had projected a £500 million reduction for the 2025-26 financial year, while the actual cash reduction in ODA spending during the 2025 calendar year exceeded £1 billion.

Officials cautioned that ODA spending is not distributed evenly throughout the year, making direct comparisons between calendar-year and financial-year figures inappropriate.

By Sabina Mammadli