Two hundred British charities and aid organizations accused the government of dealing a “tragic blow” to the world’s most marginalized people after the cuts in foreign aid were confirmed.
In a joint statement, groups such as Save the Children, Oxfam, ONE, Christian Aid, Care International and The HALO Trust criticized the government’s action in reducing official development assistance (ODA).
It comes after Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab set allocations for UK ODA spending for 2021-22 to MPs, with the government acting on its decision to reduce the UK’s annual commitment in foreign aid from 0.7% to 0.5% of gross national income.
The government has been accused of a lack of transparency on where the ax would actually fall on aid spending
In their statement, the 200 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) said: “Today’s announcement is a tragic blow to many of the world’s most marginalized people that the UK has once supported, and to the reputation of the UK as a trusted development partner.
“The government has not even spared countries ravaged by humanitarian crisis, disease, war and poverty.
“When other nations come forward and increase their aid budgets, the UK has chosen to take a step back instead.
“In a year when the UK has the chance to show leadership at the G7 and COP26, withdrawing the vital investments needed to protect everyone from health pandemics, conflict and climate change is a bad decision . “
Meanwhile, Mr Raab was warned he was facing a grid from a group of MPs on Thursday over where the ax would actually fall on foreign aid spending.
Labor MP Sarah Champion, chair of the House of Commons International Development Committee, criticized Mr Raab’s written statement to Parliament.
“Coming out with a written statement at the end of the day shows a lack of respect both for the parliament looking at these cuts and for the aid …
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-04-21 16:25:00
