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

European countries are sharply reducing overseas aid budgets in a development that compounds earlier cuts by the United States. US President Donald Trump shuttered USAID, the world's largest provider of aid, last year. Now the European Union has cut its own aid budget by 13.8% in 2025, according to figures reported by World Politics Review. Member states' individual aid contributions fell almost 10% on average during the same period.

The United Kingdom has published its own country-by-country funding plans, detailing how previously announced cuts will be distributed across recipients. The numbers reveal steep declines in some regions: African countries such as Malawi will see aid inflows fall by more than 90% by 2029. These reductions are taking place despite ongoing debate about the humanitarian consequences of aid withdrawal.

The Center for Global Development has offered a sobering assessment of aid cuts' impact. The organization estimates that USAID cuts caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and fueled armed conflicts in Africa. While the broader health and security effects of aid reductions remain disputed in policy circles, this evidence suggests that combined European and US reductions could significantly worsen conditions in vulnerable regions.

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.