‘Foreign aid cuts force a reckoning with the future of development’ – LabourList

During my 25 years of military service, some of my proudest achievements were in leading humanitarian relief operations, including airdrops of aid to the Yazidis on Mount Sinjar, and operations responding to disasters in Haiti and the Philippines.

It is from this experience, and as a Zambia-born British MP and the UK’s new Trade Envoy to Southern Africa, that I reflect on the shift we must see now that our Official Development Assistance spending is reduced to 0.3% of GNI.

I believe we must start, not by harking back to the past, but with an understanding of the kind of partnership lower income countries actually want from us. This is precisely the right moment for reflection, because, largely below the radar, our country is engaging in the first serious refresh of our approach to Africa for many years. It is only a shame that the truly progressive fresh agenda that the government will set out is not yet ready and so can’t provide the context for current discussions about development spending.

‘African states don’t want charity on our terms but equal partnerships’

What African states want from the UK is not charity handed out on our terms, but equal partnerships to deliver shared economic growth and bolster state capacity. Conversations with our excellent diplomats make clear that when today’s African governments request support, it isn’t for more aid monies, but for smart, targeted technical assistance to support growth.

How much better would it be to take steps, alongside our African friends, which build tax bases by tackling tax evasion and unsustainable debt and ensuring access to finance for investment? This would make it possible for essential services like health and education to be funded domestically and place more power in the hands of African representatives and civil societies. 

In reality, flows of aid have long been small in comparison to flows from trade, investment, and remittances from diaspora communities. Even the strongest advocates for aid spending acknowledge that the last century’s massive reductions in poverty have owed far more to structural economic and political shifts than to ODA.

‘We can do more if development is integrated at a high strategic level within our foreign policy’

This is in no way an argument for reducing UK development expertise, which must continue to make its vast contribution to improving health and livelihoods, securing rights, and protecting peace. Instead, it is a call for development advocates to come together and recognise the importance of resetting the narrative about global solidarity and relationships with lower income countries and regions.

There are many steps that can now be taken which could increase the overall contribution of UK partnerships for development, despite a falling ODA share. We can do more if development is prioritised and integrated at a high strategic level within our foreign policy, and if reforms are made to join up the expertise held in the FCDO with policies and sources of finance held in other Departments, alongside development banks like British International Investment.

‘It is more important than ever for us to lean in to Africa’s own agendas’

Ensuring that UK international engagement pulls together in a pro-development direction represents one side of this agenda. When I was in Haiti, I saw the truly excellent work that DfID experts did in working with the World Food Programme to make it far more effective in meeting people’s needs.

So, the other side is recognising that many of our closest friends and allies are making similar decisions on aid financing, and that actors like India, Brazil, Turkey, and the Gulf States are increasingly important development partners for lower income countries. Our diplomatic networks and much-valued role in multilateral institutions will often put the UK in a prime position to bring different partners together, pooling and coordinating resources for far greater development impact.

In this geo-politically fragmenting and fast-changing world, it is now more important than ever for us in the UK to recognise and lean in to Africa’s own agendas. This means action to increase trade and investment. It means industrial strategies that move up the economic value chain from extracting primary commodities to processing and manufacturing with them, including for the critical minerals so important for our net zero goals. It means enhancing people-to-people links, including remittances and partnerships involving soft power assets like our universities and cultural institutions. Last but not least, it means action on debt sustainability and access to affordable financing for investment. 

All of these represent highly progressive steps to reduce aid dependency while highlighting that growth and development are of mutual benefit. It is essential that our diplomatic networks are invested in to enable these opportunities to be seized.

The world has changed, and our national contribution to global development is so much broader than aid. The UK’s development sector must not become mired in despair or nostalgia – what we can achieve together for a brighter future is far too important for that.

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