Global hunger is a threat to Britain’s national security, report says

Britain should ensure aid money is earmarked specifically for overseas food assistance to protect its security interests, the report, which was commissioned by the organisation United Against Hunger and Malnutrition, argues.

The UK’s overseas development budget (ODA) has been drastically reduced in the last six years, falling from 0.7 per cent to 0.3 per cent of GDP.

Defence spending is up but largely earmarked for the military – and is not designed to address the root causes of global instability. 

The drop in aid – which equates to roughly £6.5 billion in real terms – has hit food assistance programmes particularly hard. 

The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), the largest provider of food relief globally, received £448 million of British aid money in 2024, a figure cut to £322 million last year. 

The organisation has had to drastically scale down operations, including giving emergency food packages to pregnant women and young children, in places like Somalia, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Haiti. 

“[Britain] needs to protect and prioritise spending on proven nutrition interventions, including supplementary and emergency therapeutic foods such as [….], breastfeeding support and ready-to-use therapeutic food. 

“There isn’t really a choice between spending money and saving money. It’s between spending modestly before a crisis and paying far more for it afterwards,” Prof Gordon said. 

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