Global progress against infectious diseases, famine and climate change has been jeopardized by Britain cutting its foreign aid contributions.
Humanitarian aid to Yemen, Syria and other nations has been cut by 60 percent since 2020, while the country's human rights work has been slashed by 80 percent.
Experts said that the consequences have been catastrophic for low-income countries. According to a new report by the United Nations program for H.I.V. and AIDS, UNAIDS, many low- and middle-income nations are not able to invest in health due to a number of factors.
In Europe, the Middle East and East Asia, there are more people on the verge of starvation. It couldn't be worse to pull back.
By the end of this month, Britain is expected to make a contribution to the Global Fund, which finances most of the campaigns against H.I.V., Malaria and Tuberculosis.
At an event hosted by President Biden last month, the leaders of the Group of 7 nations promised their support to the fund. Britain, the fund's second- largest donor after the United States, was not present.
Tony Blair is a member of the opposition Labour Party and served as prime minister from 1997 to 2007.
The Department for International Development was established by the government of Mr. Blair. The US spends less on overseas aid than any other country.
Boris Johnson, the prime minister at the time, announced in June 2020 that the department would be subsumed into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The budget for overseas development aid was going to be cut from 0.7 percent of gross national income to 0.25 percent in November 2020.
The prime minister said the aid budget would be prioritized for housing refugees and asylum seekers from Ukraine and other countries.
Mark Lowcock, the former head of the Department for International Development, said it was difficult to find room to support things like the Global Fund. There is a significant loss of life arising from these sets of decisions.
The wrong thing to do is balance the books on the backs of the world's poor.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement that Britain spent more than $11 billion in aid in 2021, and invested more than $4 billion to fight Malaria, H.I.V. and Tuberculosis.
The office said that they will make a pledge after they inform Parliament.
Three million people are killed by H.I.V., Tuberculosis and Malaria annually. The goal of the United Nations is to end the diseases as public health threats.
Progress against all three was slowed by the Pandemic.
If the Global Fund doesn't have enough money, it means less treatment for Tuberculosis, less treatment for people with H.I.V. and less bed nets for Malaria.
South Africa, India and Nigeria have the highest burdens of H.I.V., Tuberculosis and Malaria. The countries are part of the Commonwealth.
He said that the leader of the Commonwealth brings with it privileges and responsibilities.
According to the British Foreign Office, the cuts since 2020 could result in more maternal and child deaths, more abortions, and fewer girls getting an education.
50 million lives have been saved by the Global Fund, according to its own estimates. The fund could save 20 million lives over the next three years, according to the executive director.
There are some good reasons not to do that.
Britain was the sole supporter of many programs for girls' education, sexual and reproductive health, and neglected tropical diseases.
It's easier to scale back donations that are tied up in contractual obligations to the World Bank.
In May 2021, Britain ended a $1 million annual donation to a program that provided treatment for a disease in 1.7 million people in Africa. Nicholas Mutale, the executive director of Lions Aid Zambia, said that the program had just a month to find alternative funding.
The Gates Foundation gave some money, but the program had to cancel about 2,000 surgeries. About half of them might have lost their sight by now. The effect of the disability is really bad.
H.I.V., a disease that leads to loss of life, has to be prioritized by the Zambian government because of its limited resources.
He said that everyone needed to look out and see how they could support their own intervention. Before we get to that, it would be great for those that are standing to give back.
The British government is under increasing pressure to cut spending. On Monday, Ms. Truss had to reverse most of the planned tax cuts. The budget gap is estimated to be tens of billions of dollars.
The Conservative Party had strong opposition to a previous reduction in the aid budget.
Ian Mitchell is a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Mitchell said that Britain's economic troubles can't justify its withdrawal of development aid. He said that the country seemed oblivious to the fact that everyone else was having the same issues.
Global health funding is related to self-interest. Britain reduced its contribution to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative last year.
Sarah Champion is a Labour member of Parliament and the chair of a committee that monitors the government's aid spending.
Britain is a world leader due to the current trend. It is heartbreaking as well as humiliating.
Peter reported from London.
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