UK aid slashed, World Bank loans rise
The UK plans a 60% cut to Africa aid by 2029 even as it promises new climate funding — contrasted this week by a $1 billion World Bank loan for Philippine agriculture resilience, underscoring widening gaps in global climate finance. ( )
The Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, published the FCDO’s multi-year Official Development Assistance programme allocations on 19 March 2026, listing priority areas as fragile and conflict-affected states, humanitarian support, tackling violence against women and girls, and global health threats. (gov.uk)) Analysis from regional reporting shows the UK’s programme spend in Africa is projected to fall from roughly USD 2.0 billion in 2024/25 to about USD 900 million by 2029. (thereporterethiopia.com)) Rachel Kyte, the UK Special Representative for Climate, is publicly listed as the government’s climate envoy and has been cited in coverage acknowledging that a sizeable portion of shifting ODA is being redirected toward defence-related priorities. (gov.uk)) The International Rescue Committee said in its March 19 response that the published ODA allocations “matter enormously for people living through conflict,” signaling NGO concern about the reallocation’s humanitarian impacts. (rescue.org)) A UNICEF UK parliamentary briefing released in March 2026 warned ODA reductions risk reversing child-survival gains and noted that 4.9 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2024. (unicef.org.uk)) The World Bank’s Board approved a US$1.0 billion Program-for-Results loan for the Philippines Sustainable Agricultural Transformation Project (PSAT) on 27–28 March 2026, a package the Bank says will benefit at least five million Filipino farmers. (publicnow.com)) Multiple outlets noted the PSAT loan is the largest World Bank operation approved for the Philippines to date, underscoring how a single multilateral package can match or exceed projected bilateral programme spending in a region. (mb.com.ph)) The African Development Bank highlights that adaptation receives under 10% of total climate finance flows, a statistic that compounds concerns that shrinking UK ODA to Africa will widen existing adaptation and resilience financing gaps. (afdb.org))
