Bishop Stephen Wright, chair of CAFOD, the Bishops’ Conference’s official aid and development agency, has criticised Prime Minister Kier Starmer’s announcement on defence spending and cuts to Official Development Assistance (ODA), saying lives will be lost as a result of this decision. He said:
“Aid cuts cost lives. With so many in the world suffering the impacts of poverty, climate change and conflict – not least in Ukraine, Sudan and the DRC – cuts to international aid removes a lifeline for many of our poorest sisters and brothers.
“Decisions made in the UK have very human consequences around the globe. Families unable to grow food because of the climate crisis, children not able to go to school, and people going untreated and unvaccinated for curable diseases. Reducing aid not only increases suffering, it makes the world less safe for all of us.
“This year is a Jubilee Year for the Church – a time of hope, journeying together, and resetting injustices, not a time for turning our backs on those in need. The government shouldn’t be balancing the books at the expense of the poorest communities around the world.”
CAFOD has a mechanism to enable you to contact your MP to let them know you oppose these cuts, and that it’s more critical than ever that the UK supports the world’s most vulnerable communities.
Visit the CAFOD site to contact your MP.
