Money Matters: The story behind Britain's aid spending

Britain’s economy has been through a difficult time. One response by policymakers has been to cut back on their development budget. In 2020, the government decided to cut overall aid spending from 0.7% of the country’s gross national income to 0.5%. Then, the money that was set aside for development was apparently being spent at home to fund the costs of housing refugees instead of being funneled to development projects abroad. We take a look at the numbers to see the money that is going to development and to know how it is being spent. + Are there topics you want to read more about in Money Matters? We want your feedback. Trending downwards Britain still remains one of the world’s largest contributors to development assistance. For the year ending in March 2023, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office was expected to spend £7.6 billion ($9.5 billion). But this was several hundred million pounds less than its budget spending the previous year at £8.3 billion. So who is affected by this drop in spending and who is getting the remaining money? My colleague Alecsondra Kieren Si crunched the numbers and has the answers for you. Read: Britain's top development contractors of 2022/23 (Pro) Related: Andrew Mitchell revamps UK International Development + Check out our dedicated page to U.K. aid for the latest news and analysis of FCDO and the sector. Funding activity We publish tenders, grants, and other funding announcements on our Funding Platform. Here are some of the ones that have been viewed the most in the past 10 days. The Global Fund has allocated $63 million to tackle malaria in Zimbabwe. The African Development Bank is looking for consultants to conduct a feasibility study on the development of drinking water supply in undeveloped neighborhoods in Burkina Faso. USAID has launched a grant to strengthen policies and program implementation to improve health and save lives in low- and middle-income countries. The U.N. has signed a cooperation agreement with the government of Haiti to improve the country’s social services, risk management, governance, environmental care, and inclusive economic programs. Global Affairs Canada will provide 15 million Canadian dollars ($11 million) to enhance vaccine production capacity in Latin America and the Caribbean. + Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free five-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850 sources in addition to our analysis and news content. Sudan’s crisis upon crisis The fighting that erupted on April 15 between two rival forces in Sudan has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis in Africa’s third-largest country. Hundreds of people have died and thousands are being forced to flee to neighboring countries. This was on top of a situation that had around a third of its population in need of humanitarian aid even before the latest conflict erupted. USAID Administrator Samantha Power said last week that the violence has dashed hopes for democracy in the North African state. My colleague Miguel Antonio Tamonan and I take a look at what USAID and other aid agencies are doing to address the crisis in Sudan. Read: How are USAID and other donors responding to the Sudan crisis? Related: A public health lab in Sudan has become a battlefield Regressing India, often referred to as the world's largest democracy, is regressing on some of its freedoms. The country had already been cracking down on the ability of nonprofits to receive money from abroad. But the government has now put a stop to local fundraising campaigns by Save the Children India and Sightsavers India, both U.K.-headquartered nonprofits with a long history of working in the country, Devex contributor Catherine Davison reports. The government argues that these organizations working in the development sector are merely duplicating the work the state is already doing. “The sector recognises that the State is the largest agent of change and it wants to work with the State in collaborative fashion,” says Aakar Patel from Amnesty International India. “But this is not possible when the government sees civil society as a competitor, if not an enemy.” Read: How India has ramped up its crackdown on NGOs Context: In India, NGOs face funding bans, reel under ‘strangulating’ laws Gifting billions Michael Bloomberg is a billionaire businessman, three-term former mayor of New York City, and a former presidential candidate. He’s also a major philanthropist, and he has now announced plans to give away his eponymous company to his philanthropic organization, also named after him. Bloomberg L.P., the media and financial information services company, generated more than $12 billion in revenue last year. Bloomberg wants to likely transfer ownership to a trust that will finance his philanthropic endeavors. The move would allow Bloomberg Philanthropies to “operate for perpetuity,” reports my colleague Stephanie Beasley. Stephanie talked to experts to try to understand how the wealth transfer might work, what message it sends to global philanthropy, and whether it was a tax strategy. Read: Bloomberg blazes trail for more ambitious corporate-to-charity plans (Pro) Read more: In a world of one disaster after another, what is philanthropy's role? (Pro) + Not yet a Devex Pro member? Start your 15-day free trial of Pro today to access all our exclusive reporting and analysis. IDB Another major player in the development space is the Inter-American Development Bank. In 2022, IDB approved 96 project finance loans worth $12.7 billion. Once again, Alecsondra Kieren Si has been hard at work tracking down who won the funding. Read: IDB's top contractors of 2022 (Pro) I wrote this week’s Money Matters while listening to “Mood” by Wizkid ft. BNXN.