FCDO annual report: UK aid funding to some African countries to be slashed by up to 90%

Today, Thursday 16 July, the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) released its Annual Report & Accounts for 2025-26 and the UK aid allocations by countries and regions for 2026/27–2028/29.

The report contains forward-looking budgets for the current financial year (2026-27) and reported figures for UK aid spending for 2025-26. It also contains UK aid allocations for specific countries for the next three years.

The report and country allocations reveal that in comparison to the pre-cut levels from 2024-25:

Some of the lowest income and fragile and conflict affected countries will face significant cuts.
While the FCDO has said it will prioritise fragile and conflict affected states, it will cut funding to by 90% to Mozambique, 55% to Syria, 49% to Somalia, 46% to South Sudan, 39% to Afghanistan by 2029 (all fragile and conflict affected states).
Malawi and Mozambique will see their bilateral UK aid funding slashed by 90% by 2029.
Rwanda and Sierra Leone will see their bilateral UK aid funding slashed by over 80% by 2029.
Uganda will see its bilateral UK aid funding slashed by 59% by 2029.
Afghanistan will see its bilateral UK aid funding slashed by nearly 40% by 2029.
Overall, the bilateral regional programme UK aid budget will be cut gradually by 43% in comparison to pre-cut levels, to £3.1bn in 2025/26, £1.98bn in 2026/27, to £1.86bn in 2027/28 and then £1.79bn in 2028/29.

Further detail:

Malawi will see a gradual cut by 90% in comparison to pre-cut levels, from £50mn in 2025/26, to £20mn in 2026/27, £10mn in 2027/28 to only £5mn in 2028/29.
Mozambique will also see gradual reduction by 90% in comparison to pre-cut levels, from £50.5mn in 2025/26, to £27.8mn in 2026/27, £15.9mn in 2027/28 to only £5mn in 2028/29.
Rwanda will see a gradual reduction by 83% in comparison to pre-cut levels, from £28mn in 2025/26, to £12mn in 2026/27, £6.6mn in 2027/28 to £5mn in 2028/29.
Sierra Leone will see gradual cuts by 83% from pre-cut levels, from £16mn in 2025/26, to £9mn in 2026/27 and then £5mn from 2027/28 onwards.
Somalia will see a gradual reduction by 49% from pre-cut levels, from £107mn in 2025/26, to £69.2mn from 2026/27 onwards.
Uganda will see a 59% gradual cut in comparison to pre-cut levels, from £43mn in 2025/26, to £20mn in 2026/27, and £18mn from 2027/28 onwards
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) saw a £10mn increase from 2024/25 to £129.7mn, but will see a drop by 35% to £84mn from 2026/27 onwards
Ethiopia already saw a drop by 18% from £214mn in 2024/25 to £176mn in 2025/26, and will drop further by 50% to £87.6mn in 2026/27 and 2027/28, and then to £80.5mn in 2028/29. (Overall, this will be a cut by 63% by 2028/29 in comparison to pre-cut levels in 2024/25).
Afghanistan will see a reduction by 39% in comparison to pre-cut levels in 24/25, from £156.5mn in 2025/26 to £105mn from 2026/27 onwards.
Syria will see a decrease by 55% in comparison to pre-cut levels to £104mn in 2025/26 to 67.9mn from 2026/27 onwards.
Myanmar will see a 30% reduction from £92.8mn in 2025/26 to £55.3mn from 2026/27 onwards.
South Sudan will see a gradual reduction by 46% in comparison to pre-cut levels from £118.6mn in 2025/26 to £72mn from 2026/27 onwards.
Sudan has been protected at around £146mn from 2025/26 onwards.
While the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) saw a £1mn decrease from 24/25 to £117mn in 2025/26, it will be protected at pre-cut levels at £127.4mn from 2026/27 onwards.
Ukraine has been protected slightly above 24/25 and 25/26 levels at £240mn from 2026/27 onwards.
In line with the government’s announcement in March to phase out direct UK aid support to G20 countries, South Africa will see a gradual decrease (14.6mn in 25/26, £10.5mn in 26/27, £6mn in 27/28) and will no longer receive UK aid in 2028/29.

In reaction to the report and UK aid country allocations, Romilly Greenhill, CEO of Bond, said:

“By slashing UK aid funding to countries like Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Uganda this Labour government is abandoning communities on the frontlines of conflict and the climate crisis and risks plunging these countries populations into poverty and instability.

While the Foreign Secretary has repeatedly stated that fragile and conflict affected countries will be prioritised and protected such as OPT, Sudan and Ukraine, cuts to countries such as Afghanistan, DRC, Myanmar, Somalia and Syria tell a different story. These countries are already enduring conflict or facing heightened risks of instability, with DRC also grappling with the latest Ebola outbreak. Cutting support now is short-sighted and risks undermining hard-won progress, deepening poverty and driving further insecurity.

While it is welcome that UK aid funding will no longer go to G20 countries, it is deeply concerning that some of the lowest income countries in the world have had their budgets slashed. At a time of rising humanitarian need, these reductions risk leaving the most marginalised communities behind and increasing the likelihood of future instability and conflict.

It is vital that the next Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary recognise the role of development building a safer, equal and more stable world. Together, they have the opportunity to restore the UK’s standing as a reliable partner in international development: by ruling out any further cuts to UK aid, honouring Labour’s manifesto commitments, and by using the UK’s upcoming G20 presidency next year to champion the global reforms needed to address poverty and inequality among the world’s marginalised communities.”

ENDS.

Notes for editors

Bond will be publishing a deeper analysis on these figures later this week. Please refer to the Bond website for updates.
The FCDO Annual Report & Accounts for 2025-26 is available to view online.
Read Bond’s reaction to the UK aid allocations for the next 3 years.
Read Bond’s reaction to the Foreign Secretary’s Chatham House essay on restoring Britain’s place in the world.
Bond unites and supports a diverse network of over 350 civil society organisations from across the UK, and allies to help eradicate global poverty, inequality and injustice.

For further information or interviews, please get in touch with Jess Salter at [email protected] or 07392972411