New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) Pakistan is among the worst-affected countries as the United Kingdom has reduced its foreign aid spending, cutting development assistance from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent of gross national income (GNI) by 2027, a report has said.

A report by The Borgen Project said that the UK government has announced foreign aid cuts of more than $6 billion, with the deepest reductions expected in bilateral aid programmes.

Pakistan and Mozambique are set to face the steepest cuts, while countries such as Yemen, Somalia and Afghanistan will also see reductions in direct grant funding, it said.

Moreover, UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told Parliament that “hard choices and unavoidable trade-offs” were necessary as the government shifts resources toward defence spending amid global security challenges, including the war in Ukraine.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, UK aid spending stood at 0.7 per cent of GNI, highlighting a steady decline in development assistance in recent years.

The government said it plans to focus more on “partnerships for investment” to attract private capital and expertise into developing countries, while multilateral organisations will be expected to take on a larger role in areas such as healthcare and infectious disease control.

The report further stated that the cuts, along with similar reductions by other major donor countries, are expected to strain development programmes across several regions and increase reliance on alternative funding sources, including remittances.

In Pakistan, remittances from over eight million overseas citizens have risen significantly, reaching around $30 billion, helping to partially offset earlier declines in aid funding.

In Mozambique, which has limited diaspora inflows, development efforts are expected to depend more heavily on multilateral agencies, including United Nations bodies, particularly in the aftermath of recent flooding that displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

–IANS

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