The UK is expected to cut its contribution to a leading fund to help fight preventable diseases, with charities warning it could lead to more than 300,000 deaths that could otherwise be prevented.
If confirmed, the UK's contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS is expected to be cut by 20% Tuberculosis and malaria, will be announced on the sidelines of next month's G20 summit in South Africa, which Keir Starmer is due to attend.
Aid groups said the cuts, on top of a 30 per cent cut to the UK's contribution in the group's previous round of funding three years ago, would jeopardize years of progress in fighting the disease after Donald Trump cuts US aid.
No decision was publicly announced before the Global Fund's “replenishment” summit covering 2027-2029, and one government official said he would not acknowledge the scale of the projected cuts.
But aid groups say a proposed cut in UK funding from £1bn to £800m is being widely discussed by senior government officials.
If confirmed, this will follow 25% discount in the UK, money goes to another humanitarian organization considered highly effective in saving lives, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI). Gavi's final commitment of £1.25 billion over five years was, however, higher than many aid agencies had feared.
The Global Fund, based in Switzerland, is credited with helping to save tens of millions of lives in the fight against these three diseases. One aid agency estimated at £200 million could result in 340,000 preventable deaths and nearly 5.9 million preventable infections over the three-year funding period.
Gareth Jenkins, chief executive of the company Malaria No More UK said: “The world is on the brink of a malaria resurgence, which is much more likely to be triggered if the UK cuts its contribution to the Global Fund.
“In this scenario, many more children would die, health systems would be overwhelmed and the economy would collapse – with huge consequences for UK trade and health security.”
Mike Podmore, chief executive of StopAids, said the cuts would “send a terrible message”, especially as the UK officially co-hosts the funding event next month.
Podmore said: “Not only has the UK already cut spending by 30% three years ago, but to date no host has ever reduced its commitment from its previous pledge. This would represent a serious lack of leadership and damage the UK's reputation and soft power.”
Adrian Lovett, head of UK Development Campaign One, said the cuts would “jeopardize decades of progress in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and because disease doesn't stop at borders, it will put our own health security at risk here at home.”
Monica Harding, the Liberal Democrats' international development spokeswoman, said cutting funding as co-host would be “an indictment of our global leadership on diplomacy and development”.
She said: “Retreating now and cutting our contribution to the fund at a time when the United States is moving away from vaccination programs entirely would be devastating for some of the world's most vulnerable people. It could undo much of the progress we have made in the global fight against disease.”
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The UK has not yet decided what its commitment to the Global Fund will be. We will announce this in due course.”
