EU cuts aid budget 13.8%, UK to slash Africa funding by 90%

European aid cuts are unfolding in the shadow of the Trump administration's elimination of USAID, which was the world's largest aid provider. The EU's 13.8% budget reduction and member states' near-10% average decline represent a coordinated shrinkage of development assistance at a moment when global humanitarian need remains acute. The UK's country-by-country plans, which show cuts exceeding 90% for nations like Malawi by 2029, signal an intentional reallocation rather than across-the-board reduction—suggesting strategic choices about which regions and countries will absorb the heaviest impact.

The humanitarian stakes are substantial. The Center for Global Development has estimated that the USAID cuts caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and fueled armed conflicts in Africa. While the broader health and security impacts of aid cuts remain contested in policy circles, this evidence suggests that the combined effect of US and European reductions could amplify destabilization in vulnerable regions, particularly on the continent facing the deepest cuts.