Stop the UK government’s huge cuts to international aid
This week, we joined hundreds of campaigners, charity staff and volunteers at parliament for the UK Aid Lobby Day, organised by the Aid Alliance. We met with over 75 MPs to send a clear message: we must protect UK aid.
Slashing the aid budget
It’s after the government announced plans to cut its overseas aid budget by £6 bn – from 0.5% of the UK’s gross national income down to 0.3%, to free up spending for defence.
Humanitarian and development groups have already had to massively scale back child-focused programmes around education, nutrition and life-saving vaccination, following recent cuts to USAID.
Now, reducing the UK aid budget would force them to leave behind millions of children facing extreme hunger, illness, conflict and natural disasters.
We’re gravely concerned that this will force more vulnerable children to take to the streets, where they’re highly at risk of being abused, groomed and exploited by gangs, human traffickers and extremist groups.
UK Aid Lobby Day
At the lobby day, we had the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the UK Aid landscape and the importance getting it back up the government’s agenda.
Rina Dabhi, our UK programme director (pictured right with Trusts and Grants Manager Pauline Medovnikov), said:
“It was really powerful being surrounded by so many incredible activists all fighting for the same cause – all gathered together to ask the government to stop these cuts which will have a devastating impact on so many of the world’s most vulnerable children.
“Cutting aid to developing countries will undo decades of progress in improving the health, education and living standards of people across the world. It feels very short-sighted when we consider the concerns that we all have about issues such as the spread of diseases, the climate and global migration.”
We also heard from great speakers, including Alice MacDonald MP and Alex Ballinger MP, about the important link between UK Aid and national security.
Pauline Medovnikov, Trusts and Grants Manager at Railway Children, said:
“The whole day felt very energised, and I really appreciated the opportunity to meet with Connor Naismith, MP for Crewe and Nantwich, where Railway Children will soon be based. He said, ‘It was a pleasure to learn more about the vital work Railway Children is doing both here in the UK and internationally. I truly appreciate the insight you and your colleagues shared on the impact of the aid cuts.
Help us stop the cuts
The UK government’s aid cuts are putting the lives, safety, and futures of vulnerable children at risk.
No child should ever have to live on the streets.
Join us in calling for change. Ask your MP to urge the Prime Minister to reverse this decision.
Short on time? We’ve made it easy.
Click the below to find your MP’s contact details. Then copy and paste our ready-made email template. It takes just two minutes to make a difference.
