Bertha, 26, once a school drop out, is now pursuing her dream of becoming a nurse after returning to school. Photo: Thompson Mwale / World Bank

don’t forget about women and girls

The Government’s autumn budget is fast approaching (26 November). 2025 will have seen replenishments for global health organisations such as the Global Fund to Fight HIV, TB and Malaria and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Next year will bring further funding requests, for global education, and women and girls’ health. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by poverty. Access to quality education and health services are vital for women and girls to be able to gain control of their lives. It is imperative that there is space in the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget allocation for these funds.

what

women and girls must be prioritised in the UK’s international development budget

who

the UK Government must ring-fence
ODA for crucial replenishments in 2026

how

ask your MP to write to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper to support positive outcomes for women and girls

the autumn budget

Every autumn, our Government announces how it intends to allocate its budget. Last autumn, the Government announced that it intended to decrease the ODA budget, which is legally required to be at 0.7% of GNI. Cuts to ODA mean that life-saving programmes on health, nutrition and education will be shut down, and people, particularly women and girls, in the most vulnerable situations will be disproportionately affected.

In 2026, a number of multilateral funds, including the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF) will be asking governments across the world to work together to fund their programmes. Collectively, they protect women and girls by strengthening health services, strengthening national education systems, funding education in emergencies, and much more. At a time when the world faces big development challenges, there is no room to leave anyone behind, and there is no room for any more cuts to the ODA budget.

what are the global funds needing replenishment in 2026?

The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) focuses on strengthening national education systems in lower-income countries for long-term resilience and sustained progress. It provides grants to low-income country governments to support their national education plans. It works across all areas of basic education, with specific attention to access, learning, gender equality, and education in fragile/conflict-affected countries.

Education Cannot Wait (ECW) focuses on providing immediate and multi-year education for children affected by emergencies and protracted crises. It prioritises delivering rapid, flexible and sustained support for crisis-affected children to access safe, quality education, bridging the gap between humanitarian and development aid.

The Global Financing Facility (GFF) is a country-led partnership, hosted at the World Bank, focusing on improving reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health and nutrition, helping end preventable deaths and improving well-being. It has a “blended finance” approach that combines multiple funding sources to maximize impact, including domestic government resources, external grants (from its trust fund and other donors), and concessional loans from the World Bank.

how you can make a difference

To ensure these important funds affecting the life chances of women and girls are protected, write to your MP to ask for their support in these replenishments in 2026 and ask them to send a letter to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, asking her to ring-fence a proportion of ODA for these replenishments.

You can find your MP’s contact details here and advice on writing your letter here. By asking your MP to write to the new Foreign Secretary about ODA, you will be showing that there is public support for supporting women and girls via the UK’s ODA budget.

take action!

WRITE to your MP to protect the needs of women and girls through the UK’s ODA budget

ASK your MP to write to Yvette Cooper to prioritise women and girls in the investment opportunities in 2026

I took action!

we’re here to support you!

If you have any questions or need support or advice in writing your letter, please reach out – it’s our pleasure to help you establish that relationship with your MP!

You can contact Naveed Chaudhri, Head of Campaigns, at [email protected].

how investing in women and girls is transforming Zambia’s human capital

At 16 years old, Cathy Gumbo from Chisamba District in Zambia had been struggling to stay in class. Her family couldn’t always afford the basics – uniforms, books, and sanitary supplies. Meanwhile, Bertha, a young mother, is pursuing a nursing certificate. And Doreen Zyambo, 55, once a vendor with uncertain income, now runs her own small enterprise after receiving training, seed capital, and mentorship.

In rural Zambia, poverty remains entrenched. Adolescent girls face high dropout rates. Women struggle to access capital, markets, or skills training. Maternal and child under-nutrition remains widespread, affecting the foundations of learning, growth, and future earnings. When women and girls are supported with the right tools, they build pathways out of poverty – for themselves and for their families and communities. Read about how this has been done in Zambia in this example from the World Bank, which is also supported by the UK.

Image: Cathy Gumbo, a 16-year-old Grade 11 student at Chisamba Day Secondary School, hopes to build a brighter future through education.

Credit: Thompson Mwale / World Bank