Action Against Hunger acknowledges the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office’s (FCDO) annual report, setting out its performance and projected budgets in the coming years. We welcome the report’s increased transparency in comparison with recent years, and projections to nearly double bilateral aid spending to the lowest-income countries by 2024-25.
However, the projected budgets for 2023-24 and 2024-25 still fall far short of pre-pandemic spending, while the number of people facing hunger globally remains on the rise.
For example, the FCDO’s overseas development assistance (ODA) for Somalia, which is currently ranked top of the Fragile States Index, is projected to increase by 2024-25 when compared with the 2022-23 baseline, but when compared to baseline spending for 2019-20, it is projected to decrease by 22 per cent. Similarly, funding towards Sudan, the DRC, Afghanistan and Syria are anticipated to decrease by 36 per cent, 43 per cent, 48 per cent and 57 per cent respectively when 2024-25 projections are compared with the 2019-20 baseline.
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, released last week by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), showed that regional disparities are increasing, with hunger levels rising in Western Asia (including Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq) and subregions of Africa (including Ethiopia, Somalia and the DRC).
The UK’s overseas aid spending was reduced to 0.5 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) in 2021, below the UN’s recommended target of 0.7 per cent.
Kate Munro, Action Against Hunger UK’s Head of Advocacy, said: “Although we welcome plans for the ODA budget to increase country allocations for those most in need, they still fall worryingly short given the enormity of the task.
“East Africa, for example, is facing a crisis caused by the region’s worst drought in 40 years, which has been exacerbated by climate change. Last year, 43,000 lives were lost in Somalia, and 7.7 million people are currently in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, with the country on the brink of famine.
“The UK has a vital role to play in the fight against hunger. Instead of absconding from the task and allowing the suffering to continue, it is imperative that there is a return to 0.7 per cent spending target, to adequately respond to multiple intersecting crises facing communities most in need.”