Today (13/5), newspaper reports of the Foreign Secretary signalled a move away from multilateralism towards more bilateral spending of UK aid. Responding, Tim Cole, Europe Executive Director of The ONE Campaign, said:

“It is right to want UK aid to have the most impact and value for money possible, but this is often best achieved by working with the international organisations the Foreign Secretary wants to move away from. 

“Global threats such as pandemics, the climate crisis or the current food security crisis demand global responses – multilateral organisations are often best-placed to deliver these. As the Government’s own analysis shows, they deliver more bang for buck, reducing admin costs and reaching places we often can’t ourselves. 

“Britain has a strong tradition of playing a leading role in global efforts, by collaborating with others to maximise our impact – something we haven’t been doing so far in 2022, as Germany has pledged 20 times what the UK has on the pandemic response.”

ENDS

Multilateral organisations are able to deliver programs in hard-to-reach areas where the UK does not have a significant presence – as highlighted by the government’s own review as well as externally.

The Daily Mail a story about the UK ‘taking back more control of foreign aid’, which trailed the International Development Strategy.