The U.K.’s foreign aid budget may be protected, but new leadership at the Department for International Development has nevertheless hit the ground running with some early reforms after taking office in May. A series of “development awareness” projects in Britain were scrapped, while bilateral aid to China and Russia, deemed progressive enough not to receive development assistance, was suspended.
>> DFID Cancels New Funding for ‘Awareness’ Projects
An outcry from non-governmental organizations greeted leaked plans to ax more than 100 development programs, which led to a crisis meeting with Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell.