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Headlines on aid and global development are grim right now. The decimation of USAID has been swiftly followed by major cuts announced in the UK, and smaller cuts planned from a raft of European donors. Many of these aid cuts will lead to people dying. CGD Non-Resident Fellow Ken Opalo writes “this i...

Would a steep cut to the UK’s aid budget in 2027, rather than a gradual reduction, better preserve flexibility, protect international commitments, and minimise project disruptions?

Yesterday, the UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that he would fund an increase in the UK’s defence spending by cutting to its aid budget from 0.5 percent of gross national income (GNI) now, to 0.3 percent in 2027. In this blog, we explain what this will mean in practice.

As part of a wave of public reviews and consultations, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has issued a call for inputs on reforming how it thinks about the value for money (VFM) of its spending. In its earlier incarnation, the Department for International Development (DfID) w...

Recent discussions on climate finance have primarily focused on who should pay and how much, with less attention given to impact or effectiveness. But we’ve shown before that the effectiveness of climate finance can be questioned, and have urged a greater focus on quality, not just quantity. This is...

In this blog, we look at the UK’s recent patterns in aid allocation. We find that UK aid has drifted away from those countries where extreme poverty is concentrated. The UK’s bilateral aid to Africa has been cut by two-thirds in real terms since 2019. In addition, the UK’s bilateral programmes are n...

As President Trump takes office, we examine the US approach to international partnerships, look at the foundations of the so-called “special relationship” between the US and the UK, and undertake new analysis of US non-military financial assistance to the UK following the Second World War. We fin...

The US role in global health appears increasingly uncertain as President-elect Trump prepares to enter the White House. While his previous term provides clues about future directions, evolving dynamics with Capitol Hill and the overall budget picture will also shape the US approach. Still, if past i...

Barely any refugee hosting was counted as aid before 2014: despite the UK hosting significant numbers of asylum seekers. What would have happened if it had been? And should Prime Minster Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves should follow Blair and Brown's example?