“This refresh of the Integrated Review of Foreign Policy does little to acknowledge a world where 2.3 billion people do not have enough food to eat and 768 million suffer from hunger. Since the first review was published two years ago, humanitarian needs have only been increasing – one in 10 people across the world are malnourished; a condition which massively affects life chances and can even lead to death.
“It is disappointing to see how little attention is paid to reversing this trend in the refreshed strategy. The UK used to be a world leader in humanitarian response and poverty reduction. The decisions to merge the Department for International Development and the Foreign Office, and to cut the aid budget to 0.5% of Gross National Income from 0.7%, were both made before the original Integrated Review was published. This refreshed strategy should reflect on the impact of those decisions in a world where hunger and poverty are resurgent.
“Ultimately, spending on aid needs to increase to 0.7% of GNI – a reduction made no sense when needs are only increasing. We are also calling to once again have an independent department responsible for the UK’s development assistance. This way we can ensure aid meets those who most need it and we can truly tackle life-threatening hunger once and for all.”
“Ultimately, spending on aid needs to increase to 0.7% of GNI – a reduction made no sense when needs are only increasing. This way we can ensure aid meets those who most need it and we can truly tackle life-threatening hunger once and for all”