Joint letter to Foreign Secretary Lammy in response to UK ODA cuts

March 2025

Letter: On 25 February 2025, Prime Minister Starmer announced substantial cuts to the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget. Concerned about the disproportionate impact on marginalised women and girls, GADN and member organisations have called for a reversal of the decision. In a letter to Foreign Secretary Lammy, we ask that gender equality be re-confirmed as a priority across the department, with spending in this area protected under any diminished budget. These cuts are particularly damaging in the face of rapidly accelerating attacks on the rights of women and girls from misogynist far-right governments across the globe. The letter therefore calls on the FCDO to urgently increase its efforts to champion the rights of women and girls on the international stage.