Aid Cuts Threaten Global South Progress, NGOs Struggle
A wave of international aid cuts is disproportionately affecting the global south, threatening decades of development progress. These reductions have forced many NGOs to close programs and lay off staff, with some even shutting down entirely in countries like Ethiopia, South Africa, and Uganda.
The U.S. and U.K. have been particularly active in these cuts. The Trump administration dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and slashed nearly the entire U.S. foreign aid budget within nine months. In the U.K., the closure of the Department for International Development in 2020 led to a decline of about $6 billion in foreign aid, with projections of $11 billion by 2027.
Other countries are also reducing their aid budgets. France cut its development aid budget by almost 40 percent in 2025, while the Dutch government plans to cut 2.4 billion euros ($2.8 billion) from its development aid budget by 2027. Belgium has announced a 25 percent reduction in aid funding over the next five years. Meanwhile, Sweden more than halved its overseas aid budget in 2023, and Germany saw a fall of over 10 percent in overseas development assistance from 2023 to 2024, with more cuts projected.
These cuts are disrupting development trajectories and eroding institutional knowledge in the global south. They have led to the closure of sexual and reproductive health programs for women and girls, among other impacts. Despite these trends, there are no clear cases of countries making significant increases in their development aid commitments. NGOs face a challenging environment, with global democratic recession and authoritarian resurgence further threatening their work.
