UK’S aid cut ‘will devastate women and girls’

An 85% cut to UK’S contribution to the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency has been described as “devastating” for women, girls and their families around the world.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said the slashed funding will see the government’s expected contribution to its flagship programme for family planning this year fall from £154 million to £23m.

It said this is a “retreat from agreed commitments made to the programme” last year and that funds would have been used to prevent tens of thousands of maternal and child deaths, millions of unintended pregnancies and millions of unsafe abortions.

The organisation said that, in addition, £12m is to be cut from the UNFPA’S “core operating funds” and that several countrylevel agreements are also likely to be affected.

UNFPA executive director Dr Natalia Kanem said the decision by a “long-standing partner and advocate” is one it “deeply regrets”.

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

“With the nowwithdrawn £130m, the UNFPA Supplies Partnership would have helped prevent around 250,000 maternal and child deaths, 14.6 million unintended pregnancies and 4.3 million unsafe abortions.

Conservative peer Baroness Sugg, who quit her post in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office late last year over aid cuts, described the government’s decision as a “double hit” on the world’s poorest.