'Even Boris Johnson Ring-Fenced This': Labour Under Fire For Real-Life Impacts Of Foreign Aid Cuts

Keir Starmer and Boris JohnsonLabour’s decision to stop tendering an education scheme in South Sudan as part of its foreign aid cuts have been criticised for supposedly going even further than Boris Johnson did during austerity.The government has chosen to reduce its international development fund from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% from 2027 so it can boost defence spending.This means around £6.5billion will be cut from the planned aid budget between 2024-25 and 2027-28.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) alone has to cut around a third, £3billion, from its existing budget – and vulnerable countries like South Sudan are already starting to face the consequences.The government now sees the current Education for All South Sudan (EFASS) programme as no longer viable, and is cancelling this tender amid a wider review of Foreign Office budgets.South Sudan has been one of the toughest places in the world for girls to get an education for years due to conflict, poverty and social attitudes.The UK has, until now, provided funding to help the national government address this issue.South Sudan’s minister of general education and instruction, Kuyok Abol Kuyok said the UK embassy told him it was not a cancellation of the project, just of the tender – and officials insisted that Britain is still “in the game”.But he told BBC World Service: “This is one of the best projects Great Britain is investing in South Sudan, it had huge impact.”“I’m very concerned. Because, look, what is going to happen?” Kuyok added.“Even Boris Johnson ring-fenced this during those difficult days of austerity in the UK,” he said, noting how the ex-PM appointed Helen Grant MP as special envoy on girls’ education in 2021.“This is one of the best investments the UK is making across the world, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Congo and Somalia, even Sudan.”He said the FCDO’s own impact assessment found the cuts would impact children’s education and raise risks of health in many African countries.“The project is so important that it helped to improve access to many girls in the country,” he said, pointing out countries like Canada – and the US, before Donald Trump returned to power – joined the cause too.“Great Britain would be throwing away this investment, this opportunity, for these other countries to invest in South Sudan,” he said.“South Sudan was the only place to open our schools during Covid, and the reason we did that was to protect our girls,” he said, and claimed there were fewer pregnancies during that period as a result. According to a FCDO letter posted on social media, officials confirmed it was a “very difficult decision” and they appreciated it would be “extremely disappointing” to hear.The FCDO has been contacted for comment.Related...Foreign Aid Cuts Will Lead To More Poor People Dying, Government AdmitsKeir Starmer Announces Foreign Aid Is Being Slashed To Boost Defence Spending

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