Philanthropists to partly cover UK foreign aid cut

PHILANTHROPIST organisations, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will provide £93.5 million funding to cover some cuts in the UK foreign aid.

This follows the government’s decision to cut this year's spending on overseas aid from 0.7 per cent of national income to 0.5 per cent due to the financial impact of the pandemic.

The organisations, which also includes the Children's Investment Fund Foundation, the ELMA Foundation and Open Society Foundations, said the funding would help projects tackling preventable diseases and providing family planning and sexual health services.

The UN's family planning agency (UNFPA) is expected to lose about 85 per cent of its funding from the UK, a drop of about £130m.

Kate Hampton, chief executive of the Children's Investment Fund Foundation, said, "These life-saving treatments are cost-effective investments. If they go unfunded this year, British taxpayer generosity will be wasted as clinics are closed and essential drugs expire and are thrown away."

The emergency funding was lauded by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

However, he called on the government to restore its commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on foreign aid.

Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, said, "When Britain withdraws, others step in. By cutting our aid, we have given states such as China and Russia an opportunity to expand their influence at Britain's expense."

Chancellor Rishi Sunak had said earlier that it was hard to "justify" the commitment (0.7 per cent of national income) with the UK facing record borrowing, and with a national debt of well above £2 trillion.

"We have always been clear that the government will return to spending 0.7 per cent of GNI (gross national income) on international development as soon as the fiscal situation allows," a government spokesperson said.