The Guardian reportedly reports that if the UK cut funds for highly effective vaccination programs as part of a major cut in foreign aid, hundreds of thousands of children in the world's poorest countries will die.
According to data collated by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations:Gabi), the UK has previously been one of its major contributors, but even a small cut in UK funding is expected to result in millions of less vaccinations and a huge number of preventable deaths.
The forecasts, compiled by aid agencies based on Gavi's records, put more pressure on the government on plans to significantly cut overseas aid, in order to significantly reduce foreign aid after protesting Minister Anneliese Dodds on Friday.
It urged the Minister not to erode UK diplomatic and cultural soft power in Britain as head of the UK Council, partially funded by the aid budget.
Predictions ahead of the new cuts calculated that even if the UK stabilizes its contribution to Gavi rather than a 10% increase, it would lead to the Geneva-based alliance vaccinating 8 million children.
The aid agencies had anticipated that the UK's budget for Gavi would be cut even before the announcement on overseas aid on Tuesday. A 40% decrease would result in hundreds of thousands of otherwise preventable deaths if the overall aid amount is reduced.
The Foreign Ministry said no decisions regarding the particular programme will be made prior to the spending review next month, pointing to Kiel Starmer's pledge to specifically support vaccination efforts, as well as relief in areas such as Sudan and Gaza. However, aid authorities are supported by potentially significant cuts.
The cuts ranged from 0.5% of national income in 2027 to 0.3% in 2027, with one-third of that is spent on asylum seekers in the UK, experts say the amount spent abroad could be 0.23%.
This sparked a special alarm after Donald Trump effectively shut down the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and halted many of his own vaccination work.
The UK has given Gavi more than £2 billion over the past four years. The United States was previously a significant funder, along with the bill and the Melinda Gates Foundation.
Aid campaigners argue that it has proven to be extremely cost-effective for the job. Gavi's statistics show that over 25 years of operation vaccinating more than 1.1 billion children in 78 countries, preventing nearly 18 million deaths.
“It's financially easy to cut UK funds for Gavi, but it's disastrous,” said an aid agency official. “It's going to cost a lot of lives. There's no way to avoid that.”
A Gavi spokesperson said the alliance was “strong-minded” to hear the priority vaccination as a priority.
After the newsletter promotion
They added: “We appreciate the competing priorities faced by all countries, but the cuts in UK funding have a disastrous impact on Gabi's work supporting the daily vaccination of more than half of the world's children, reaching a vulnerable context that maintains global stockpiles of vaccines against diseases such as Ebola and cholera, and supports urban exhaust and presence with potential countries.
Doing this would “reverse years of progress, reduce global security in the face of an inevitable future emergency, and bring countries back to the path of self-sufficiency,” the spokesman said.
The British Council also warned last month that it faced a potential budget cut of £250 million.
Council chief executive Scott McDonald said while defence spending is needed, “We must not forget the importance of building alliances and global influence through soft power activities supporting UK security goals.
He added, “It is important that simultaneously cutting aid budgets is not provided in a way that undermines the UK's reputation and soft power.”
