the world is changing – let’s make it for the better

Despite recent reductions in the level of Official Development Assistance (ODA) the UK provides to lower-income countries, the Government has said that it intends to remain a leader in global development cooperation. But it wants to do things differently in future, working in partnership with countries on joint priorities, moving away from the traditional donor and recipient relationship. It is vital that international development assistance programmes act as a partnership of equals, but putting more responsibility on countries themselves must not be used as an excuse to reduce our level of financial support to those in most need, or to paper over historic injustices.

what

the UK is reconsidering its role in international development

who

campaigners can help make sure the Government doesn’t walk away from its historic responsibilities

how

meet your MP to demonstrate public support for an equitable approach to poverty reduction

international development cooperation is changing

In recent decades, significant progress has been made in reducing infant and maternal mortality, improving public health, increasing school attendance and global literacy rates, and vaccinating children under five. However, many development programmes and approaches have also perpetuated fundamental power imbalances in the global system, based on the false assumption that donor countries know how to do things better than recipient countries, and many lower-income countries still struggle to deliver public services sustainably, especially those facing conflict and climate emergencies.

Across the globe, ODA-flows are decreasing as governments shirk their responsibilities to the world’s poorest and most marginalised citizens, with the UK announcing a further significant reduction in its ODA spending in February 2025, citing the need to increase defence spending, and claiming that a majority of the UK public supported the cut. This comes alongside increased scepticism of ‘aid’ in the ‘Global North’, rising xenophobia and nationalism, and the perceived collapse of the international rules-based order. The challenges of global development have not decreased, but many of the largest donors are in retreat.

While the Government has restated its commitment to the long-standing target of spending 0.7% of the UK’s Gross National Income (GNI) on ODA when the economic situation allows, this is clearly not an immediate priority for them, and no timetable is being discussed. Now, the UK Government is hoping to engage in a discussion with other governments, philanthropy, the private sector, technology companies and civil society organisations about the future of international development cooperation and what principles should guide it. This is a very important opportunity to discuss the future of the UK’s international development work; however, these discussions must not be used as an excuse to make the current historically low ODA spending a new norm, or to renege on our commitment to meet the 0.7% target in the longer-term.

what does effective and equitable global development look like?

The UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) should be guided by a clear moral purpose to end poverty and inequality, protect human rights, and strengthen public systems. Development is most effective and sustainable when it is locally owned, evidence-based, and focused on reaching the most marginalised first. To be effective, UK ODA must address global injustices, climate inequality and structural barriers to poverty reduction. It should be oriented around the following principles:

1. Community-led, community-centred and community-accountable.
Programmes should have meaningful participation from affected communities, especially marginalised groups and young people.

2. Challenges oppression and inequality.
The UK must use its influence to tackle the structural drivers of poverty – including debt injustice, illicit financial flows, tax inequality and unequal trade. This means strengthening public systems and human rights, not serving narrow economic or political interests.

3. Economically non-coercive.
ODA should never impose conditions that undermine the sovereignty of a country but instead should support partners to put fair, transparent domestic resource mobilisation in place (such as fair taxes).

4. Advances climate justice.
Development spending must align with the UK’s net-zero commitments, avoid environmental harm, and ensure that those least responsible for the climate crisis are not the most affected.

5. Promote active learning.
Development should be based on sharing learning and creating knowledge together. Solutions should be based on the situation and needs in individual countries, not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.

what do we want MPs and the Government to do?

MPs must understand that there is still wide support for effective, equitable international development work, and advocate for this approach in Parliament. The Government should implement this in its ODA programmes, as well as returning the UK’s ODA spending to 0.7% of GNI when it is able to do so. We have been told that MPs and Ministers are not hearing from constituents often enough about international development, so we need to ensure this is not the case!

Please arrange to visit your MP face-to-face in advance of an expected UK Government-run conference on international development principles (to be held some time in spring 2026, so please try to arrange your visit by early March). The aim is to demonstrate to MPs across the political spectrum that there is wide public support for equitable global poverty reduction. There is still broad public support for ODA, and it is essential to counter the negative stereotypes of ‘aid’ as ineffective, fostering dependency, or counter to the UK’s national interests.

Whether or not you have previously met with or written to your MP, as their constituent, you have a right to put forward your views. Please tell them about the Government conference that is planned, and explain to them the principles of effective international development (set out in the drop-down box above), so that they can advocate for them in Parliament and write to the Foreign Secretary in support of their adoption.

You can visit your MP individually or as a group. Many MPs hold regular advice surgeries in the local constituency, and publicise them online.

You can find advice on planning a meeting with your MP here.

If you were able to write to the Foreign Secretary or your MP last year in support of the UK’s international development efforts, a big thank you! Now, it’s important to deepen the understanding of Parliamentarians about the principles that should guide international development cooperation, to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world.

take action!

contact your MP’s office to arrange an in-person meeting or local surgery visit

prepare how you will explain why international development cooperation matters to you

at the meeting, tell your MP why and how the UK should remain committed to global poverty reduction

I took action!

we’re here to support you!

If you have any questions or need support advice in planning your visit to your MP, please reach out to us or use this guide!

Contact Naveed Chaudhri, Head of Campaigns, at [email protected].

funding local health systems in Guinea

In many parts of Africa, community health systems are a crucial pillar of public health, delivering essential health services to reach communities even in the most remote areas. At the heart of these local health systems are the community health workers who identify diseases early and reach populations often missed by the formal health system. But these essential health workers are often unpaid and unsupported, with financing for their lifesaving work fragmented and, in many cases, short-term.

In Guinea, an initiative was launched in October 2024, supported by the Global Fund to Fight HIV, TB and Malaria, to embed community health into local investment and planning across 10 rural communes in the Kindia and Mamou regions. Local officials received support to integrate community health into their budgets. Local ownership is making community health more visible in decision-making spaces and giving municipalities the tools to mobilise their own resources, such as local taxes or levies on businesses.

Find out more about this story here.

Credit: Integrate Health