Key facts
- Aid to Sierra Leone falls from nearly £30 million in 2024-25 to £5 million in 2028-29, per the Guardian's analysis.
- Rwanda's aid falls from nearly £30 million in 2024-25 to £5 million in 2028-29, the same analysis showed.
- Tanzania's aid falls from £60 million in 2025-26 to £5 million in 2028-29, the Guardian reported.
- At least 26 Commonwealth countries were prevented from applying to the Darwin Initiative, worth about £40 million a year, the report said.
- Adrian Gahan of the Campaign for Nature said the UK government made no financial contribution to the Commonwealth Nature Initiative launch.
UK aid funding to Commonwealth nations that previously had bilateral aid programs will fall from £546 million in 2024-25 to £131 million in 2028-29, according to an analysis of recent and projected figures seen by the Guardian. Within that total, £68 million is scheduled for Nigeria in 2028-29, leaving £63 million for the other countries.
The cuts sit alongside an overall reduction in the UK aid budget and target countries judged to be middle income, the Guardian reported. Sierra Leone, which the report describes as one of the world's least developed countries, will see aid fall from nearly £30 million in 2024-25 to £5 million in 2028-29. Rwanda, which the previous government had a scheme to send refugees to, is also cut from nearly £30 million to £5 million over the same period. Tanzania's aid falls from £60 million in 2025-26 to £5 million in 2028-29, and funding for the Caribbean Development Team drops from more than £98 million in 2025-26 to £45 million in 2026-27.
At least 26 Commonwealth countries have also been prevented from receiving funds under the Darwin Initiative, a longstanding nature funding stream worth about £40 million a year, the Guardian reported. Adrian Gahan, UK lead at the Campaign for Nature, said the cuts come as the king attended the launch of the Commonwealth Nature Initiative, to which he said the UK government made no financial contribution. Jean McLean, Oxfam GB's chief influencing officer, said the cuts would be felt by families facing starvation and children denied healthcare and education.
The aid figures were reported as the king attended the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Antigua in the week of November 3, 2026, where he said it was "only right that we should acknowledge the great suffering and injustices" of slavery. The report said Burnham's government sought to keep reparations off the agenda. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office had been approached for comment and the meeting was set to wrap up on Wednesday.