London, UK – 22/7/25 – The ONE Campaign has reacted to the publication of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) annual report with three key insights – and why they matter for the UK’s role in the world.

The government announced in February that it will slash international aid by 40% in three years.

It was confirmed in today’s FCDO annual report that Official Development Assistance (ODA) will be cut by £575.25 million from 2024-25 to 2025-26, representing a 6% cut. This means much more severe cuts have been ‘back-loaded’ to 2026-27 and 2027-28. (1)

“Today’s report confirms significant cuts right now to some vital health, humanitarian and education programmes. The far deeper spending reductions next year will have deadly consequences for some of the world’s most vulnerable people,” said Adrian Lovett, ONE’s Executive Director for the UK, Middle East and Asia Pacific.

Three key things we learned from today’s FCDO annual report and accounts 2024-25:

1. Women and children are in the front line of cuts 

The UK has rightly protected key health investments like Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, from the worst of the cuts. 

But cuts to gender-focused programmes, including family planning and tackling gender-based violence, undermine the broader goal of building resilient, thriving societies. 

Education, Gender & Equality work has been cut by more than £200 million in the space of a year. The UK spent £490 million on these programmes last financial year, but is spending just £283.7 million in 2025-26 (2)

In particular, ODA spent on girls’ education has been cut by 51% from one year to the next. (3)

The government’s own impact assessments, also published today, reveal the high human cost of the cuts already made. They state: 

“In Africa, spending is reduced in women’s health, health systems strengthening and health emergency response e.g. in DRC, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia. Spending on some programmes targeting women and children, WASH and nutrition have also been reduced. 

“For example, the reduction in budget of the Ending Preventable Deaths Support Programme, a key component of our work to help end the preventable deaths of women, newborns and children, will require reduction.”

On education, the assessments say: “Adverse impacts on children will be likely, including the most vulnerable and children with disabilities”. In the case of the early closure of the DRC education programme, for example, negative impacts will be felt by “170,000 children in post-conflict rural Kasai.”

These programmes are not optional extras – they are often the difference between life and death for women and girls in the most disadvantaged parts of the world.

2. Bilateral aid to Africa has been disproportionately cut by £184 million

Figures included in the FCDO Annual Report (Annex A) confirms that ODA investment in Africa has been cut from £1.55 billion in 2024-25 to £1.37 billion in 2025-26. This is a 12% cut, compared to the 6% cut overall. (4)

This is equivalent to roughly £184 million from one year to the next – despite an extremely high level of need. Despite suffering what many experts consider to be the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, bilateral ODA to Sudan is projected to be cut from just under £146 million in 2024-25 to £120 million in 2025-26. ODA to neighbouring South Sudan is also due to be reduced this financial year. 

3. A welcome commitment to International Development Association (IDA)

The UK’s confirmation that it will honour its commitment to the International Development Association (IDA) is a bright spot. 

Today, FCDO confirmed it will provide more of this in cash up-front to the World Bank (enabling it to reduce its contribution by 10%), allowing the Bank to earn interest on it. It still receives the full $1.98 billion while releasing some UK ODA back to be redeployed into other areas.

As ONE said at the time of the IDA21 pledging conference in December last year, this is a bold and strategic investment for greater economic opportunities and healthier lives in Africa and elsewhere. The UK’s commitment sends an important signal of its commitment to global leadership.

Adrian Lovett, Executive Director for the UK, Middle East and Asia Pacific at the ONE Campaign, said:

“This is a stark reminder of the impossible choices facing ministers and officials in the coming years. While phasing these reductions offers some breathing room, it does not change the destination – a UK aid budget stretched beyond its limits, forced to choose between saving lives today, or building resilience to future conflicts, pandemics and environmental disasters.

“The government’s enduring commitment to the International Development Association (IDA) is a smart investment in long-term development, and is one hopeful sign. We urge ministers to apply the same foresight and resolve across the board – especially when it comes to supporting women and girls, and tackling growing humanitarian crises.

“The cuts revealed today are tough, and appear to hit Africa especially hard. A year from now we will have plummeted over the cliff edge of far deeper cuts, gutting vital programmes supporting some of the world’s most vulnerable people. 

“The government must set a clear path back to spending 0.7% of national income on international aid. In the meantime, it must preserve as much of the budget as possible, starting with reducing the 20% share currently spent domestically on housing refugees here in the UK, and ensure that every penny of what’s left delivers maximum impact where it is needed most.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

FCDO’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2024-25 were published today, Tuesday July 22, 2025. It gives an overview of how the department spent public money over the past year, and how it performed against its objectives.

Annex A of the report shows: 

(1) Total FCDO ODA was £9,284,435,000 in 2024-25, and is forecast to be £8,709,185,000 in 2025-26. This is a reduction of £575,250,000, a 6.19% cut.

(2) ODA spent on Education, Gender & Equality was £490,012,000 in 2024-25, and will be £283,668,000 in 2025-26. 

(3) ODA on the Girls Education Department will fall from £378.4 million in 2024-25 to £185.7 million in 2025-26, a fall of 50.9%.

(4) FCDO reported £1,551,039,000 was spent in ODA to Africa in 2024-25. It forecasts it will reduce this to £1,367,053 in 2025-26. This is a cut of £183,986,000. This is a 11.9% cut.

About ONE:

ONE is a global, nonpartisan organisation advocating for the investments needed to create economic opportunities and healthier lives in Africa. Our trusted advocacy uses hard-hitting data, grassroots activism, political engagement, and strategic partnerships to influence decision-makers. Learn more at One.org