Looking ahead to 2022 in U.K. aid

By many estimations, last year was the worst the United Kingdom’s development sector has ever endured. The government’s aid budget cuts saw programs decimated and relationships with the government plummet, along with finances. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s first year was described as one of “upheaval and crisis.” As 2022 begins, Devex explores the key issues ahead. Truss, but verify The coming year is widely expected to be another one of febrile politics in the United Kingdom, and internationally. With Foreign Secretary Liz Truss emerging strongly and increasingly publicly as a contender to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson, her days leading FCDO may be numbered. Truss’ position matters because, as foreign secretary, she retains the overall responsibility for development and humanitarian policy — at a time when needs are growing, but so are competing international agendas. In December, she also took on the brief for the fiendishly difficult and politically sensitive Brexit negotiations. “Liz Truss doesn’t seem to be seeking a legacy [as foreign secretary] but rather using this great office of state as a stepping stone to even higher office,” according to Aid Alliance campaign director, Richard Darlington. “Taking back control of Brexit policy is great news for the Foreign Office but it is inevitably going to hit the Foreign Secretary’s bandwidth and further relegate development to the bottom of her red box.” Sarah Champion, chair of the International Development Committee of parliamentarians who scrutinize development policy, echoed this concern, now Truss has “added another brief to her enormous portfolio.” Champion also worried about the “skills exodus from FCDO - through choice or redundancy.” There have been reports that FCDO will downsize by as much as 20%, something the department’s leaders have denied. There have been some meager signs of optimism for the development sector on aid funding as contracts have reportedly once again begun to flow through the FCDO pipeline, but a return to a budget of 0.7% of gross national income is not expected until at least 2024. Truss has claimed to have restored funding for humanitarian and gender causes, but precise details on this reallocation are lacking. The long-awaited strategy Meanwhile, a much-delayed international development strategy for FCDO is due in 2022, though no one is quite sure when it will arrive. In keeping with the government’s tendency for making big development policy decisions before strategic documents are published — such as the merger of the Department for International Development prior to the publication of the Integrated Review — there is some suspicion that key aspects of U.K. development policy have already been decided, and without meaningful consultation with the sector. “The rebranding of CDC [Group] as British International Investment is clearly a signal of what’s to come in the International Development Strategy,” said Darlington. Following the announcement of the CDC Group reforms, Truss made a keynote speech on Dec. 8 which laid out her international policy vision, saying that investment and “economic partnerships” would be the focus of U.K. development policy. Hinting at her wider foreign policy approach, Truss also said the U.K. was “determined to work with our friends to form a network of liberty,” but detail on what this means in practice is still lacking. Champion — and many others — are worried that the FCDO is shifting “away from ending poverty and the necessary focus on Africa” — which the government denies. Aaron Oxley, executive director of health campaign group Results UK, said: “We’ve seen a huge swing in U.K. development strategy from poverty alleviation to diplomatic and strategic priorities, and to U.K. business and opening markets. There’s nothing wrong with that but [it should not be using] aid money.” The International Development Act 2002 requires aid to be spent reducing poverty — something the government maintains it is doing. Oxley added that 2022 is “going to be absolutely huge for global health.” With replenishments due for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Global Fund, and the escalating costs of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, along with nutrition and polio efforts, there’s a “need for donor resources to really step up [in 2022] in a way we’ve not seen for a while,” said Oxley. Meanwhile, Champion told Devex the IDC’s two main inquiries in 2022 will be on atrocity prevention, focusing on Bosnia, and on ending extreme poverty. “Both feel unnervingly timely and we really hope will lead to FCDO sharing our belief that these areas need renewed commitment,” said Champion. There is also concern among NGOs about the various humanitarian crises which are ongoing, particularly in Afghanistan, where the U.K. has so far been reluctant to engage with the new Taliban government. The opposition Labour Party is calling for Afghanistan to be an international priority for the U.K. government in 2022. Coming to the table Truss is reported to have met with NGO leaders for a “real conversation” about aid and development priorities, according to an attendee. This is in contrast to former Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who never met with NGO leaders, the person said. After former FCDO Minister Wendy Morton was quietly moved to the Department of Transport on Dec. 19, it was also unclear which minister would be responsible for liaising with NGOs. Responding to a Devex inquiry, FCDO did not specify a specific minister. Despite this early engagement with the development sector, Truss’s apparent focus on the top job matters because, “her decision-making on development is going to come under more and more political pressure,” according to Darlington. “NGOs, think tanks and civil servants will have to redouble their efforts to get a development policy that’s led by the science.”