
The UK is expected to reduce its contribution to a leading aid fund to combat preventable diseases, with charities warning it could lead to more than 300,000 preventable deaths.
If confirmed, the expected 20% reduction in the UK’s contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will be announced on the sidelines of next month’s G20 summit in South Africa, which Keir Starmer is due to attend.
Aid groups said such a reduction, in addition to a 30% cut in the UK’s contribution to the group’s previous funding round three years ago, would further jeopardize years of progress in fighting the disease after Donald Trump cut US aid.
No decision has been announced publicly ahead of the Global Fund’s “renewal” summit, covering the period 2027-2029, and one government official said this did not acknowledge the extent of the expected reduction.
However, aid groups say the proposed cut in UK funding from £1 billion to £800 million is being widely discussed by senior government officials.
If confirmed, it would follow a 25% cut in UK funds allocated to another aid organization seen as highly effective in saving lives, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI). However, the final commitment of £1.25 billion over five years to Gavi was higher than many aid agencies had feared.
The Swiss-based Global Fund is credited with helping save tens of millions of lives in the fight against the three diseases. One aid agency An estimated £200 million cut It could lead to up to 340,000 avoidable deaths and nearly 5.9 million avoidable injuries over the three-year funding period.
Gareth Jenkins, chief executive of No Malaria UK, said: “The world is on the brink of a malaria resurgence, which is likely to happen if the UK reduces its contribution to the Global Fund.
“In this scenario, more children would lose their lives, health systems would collapse and economies would decline – with huge implications for trade and health security in the UK.”
Mike Podmore, chief executive of StopAids, said a reduction “would send a terrible message”, especially as the UK will officially co-host the funding event next month.
“Not only did the UK already make a 30% cut three years ago, but to date no host has lowered its commitment from its previous pledge. This would represent a serious lack of leadership and undermine the UK’s reputation and soft power,” Podmore said.
Adrian Lovett, head of the UK’s Development First Campaign, said the cuts would “jeopardize decades of progress in the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria – and since diseases don’t stop at borders, they will threaten our health security here at home too.”
Monica Harding, the Lib Dems’ international development spokesperson, said cutting funding as a co-host would be “an indictment of our global leadership in diplomacy and development”.
“To step back now and reduce our contribution to the Fund at a time when the United States is abandoning mass vaccination programs would be devastating for some of the world’s most vulnerable people,” she said. “It would risk undoing much of the progress we have made in the global fight against disease.”
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The UK has not yet decided the size of its pledge to the Global Fund. We will announce this in due course.”