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A health centre in Sana’a, Yemen
Women and children wait to be seen at a health centre in Sana’a, Yemen, one of the countries where the UNFPA programme operates. Photograph: Yahya Arhab/EPA
Women and children wait to be seen at a health centre in Sana’a, Yemen, one of the countries where the UNFPA programme operates. Photograph: Yahya Arhab/EPA

‘Devastating for women and girls’: UK cuts 85% in aid to UN family planning

This article is more than 2 years old

UNFPA says £130m being withheld would have helped prevent 250,000 child and maternal deaths in poorest countries

The British government is slashing its funding to the UN population fund (UNFPA) in a move described as “devastating” for women and girls.

The agency confirmed on Wednesday that the UK, its largest donor, is cutting funding for contraceptives and reproductive health supplies by 85% this year – from £154m to £23m – and cutting core funding from £20m to £8m.

UNFPA said the £130m that has been withheld would have helped prevent a quarter of a million child and maternal deaths, 14.6 million unintended pregnancies and 4.3 million unsafe abortions.

It is a huge blow to UNFPA, which works in 150 countries. Britain is the first donor government to back away from its existing commitments. When the US government stopped funding the agency under Donald Trump, commitments already made were honoured.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) currently supports between 60 and 70% of UNFPA’s supplies budget. Last year, it pledged £425m until 2025, the largest financial partnership in the agency’s history.

“UNFPA recognises the challenging situation facing many donor governments, yet deeply regrets the decision of our longstanding partner and advocate to step away from its commitments at a time when inequalities are deepening and international solidarity is needed more than ever,” said its executive director Natalia Kanem. “The truth is that when funding stops, women and girls suffer, especially the poor.

“These cuts will be devastating for women and girls and their families across the world.”

Gift Malunga, UNFPA’s Zambia representative, said she was shocked by the news. “It’s really troubling,” she said. “We’re really concerned that the most vulnerable women and girls will suffer most.

“We’re still trying to assess the impact … but what is certain is it will have a negative effect on the quality of life for women and girls.”

UNFPA supplies 70% of contraceptives in Zambia, where almost a third of girls will become pregnant before they reach 18.

The cuts will also have a knock-on effect on the work of NGOs provided with contraceptives by the agency, including the International Planned Parenthood Federation and MSI Reproductive Choices. In 2020, MSI received about $8.5m (£6m) of supplies from UNFPA.

The cuts are part of Britain’s plans to reduce the overseas aid budget from 0.7% to 0.5% of gross national income.

An FCDO spokesperson said: “The seismic impact of the pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take tough but necessary decisions, including temporarily reducing the overall amount we spend on aid.

“We will still spend more than £10bn this year to fight poverty, tackle climate change and improve global health.

“We are working with suppliers and partners on what this means for individual programmes.”

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