Aysu Bicer
19 March 2026•Update: 19 March 2026
LONDON
The UK on Thursday unveiled a reshaped approach to international development, focusing resources on the world’s most fragile and conflict-affected states while cutting overall aid spending.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told Parliament that the decision to reduce development spending was linked to record defense investment, describing it as “the biggest increase in defense spending since the Cold War.”
The government announced in February 2025 that it was slashing aid to 0.3% of GNI (Gross National Income) by 2027, from 0.7% to fund defense spending.
It is looking at plans to raise defense spending to 3% of GDP by the end of the current parliament in 2029.
Under the new allocations, Ukraine, the Gaza Strip, and Sudan, with Lebanon added this week, will have their aid protected.
Other humanitarian priorities, including Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Mozambique, will continue to receive support, but direct grants will be reduced in favor of multilateral programs.
Cooper said that “70% of all geographic support will be allocated to the most fragile and conflict-affected states.”
Reforms will also target multilateral institutions, with the UK aiming to unlock additional development finance through organizations such as the World Bank and African Development Fund.
Highlighting a shift from traditional aid, she said, “We are moving from providing grants to providing expertise, drawing on the best of British know-how … from world-class universities, to specialists in the tech sector and the city of London.”
