Policy Updates

On July 27, 2025, the foreign and defense ministers of Australia and the UK issued a joint statement in Darwin, Australia, reaffirming their shared commitment to the WPS agenda.

The statement, released ahead of the 25^th anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, noted that the promise of the WPS agenda remains unfulfilled. The ministers expressed concern that women and girls continue to be disproportionately affected by conflict and that their exclusion from peace processes prevents lasting security. The nations also highlighted their concern about the use of conflict-related sexual violence as a tactic of war.

Both nations committed to the full implementation of the agenda, including to:

• Promote women’s leadership in all areas of peace and security;
• Support women-led organizations and human rights defenders in conflict settings;
• Strengthen accountability mechanisms to address sexual and gender-based violence; and
• Collaborate internationally to advocate for the WPS agenda.

On July 22, 2025, the UK's FCDO published its Annual Report and Accounts for 2024 to 2025, which CSO Bond warns of a concerning outlook for communities most in need of assistance.

The document, which contains forward-looking budgets for the current financial year (2025-26) and reported figures for UK ODA spending for 2024-25, outlines the first reductions in a phased plan to lower the ODA budget to 0.3% of GNI by 2027. According to Bond's analysis, the FCDO’s programme ODA budget is set to fall from GBP9.3 billion (US$12.6 billion) in 2024/25 to GBP8.7 billion (US$11.8 billion) in 2025/26. It will decrease further to GBP6.8 billion (US$9.2 billion) in 2026/27 and GBP6.2 billion (US$8.4 billion) in 2027/28, a total decrease of over GBP3 billion (US$4.1 billion).

Bond's analysis highlights that the cuts will disproportionately affect the poorest countries. Bilateral assistance to Africa is being cut by 12% (GBP184 million or US$250 million) in the current financial year. Funding is also being reduced for several countries facing major humanitarian crises, including Ethiopia (25% reduction), South Sudan (23%), and Somalia (27%). Budgets for Sudan and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, both stated government priorities, are also seeing cuts of 18% and 21%, respectively. The FCDO has pointed to a GBP85 million (US$115 million) crisis reserve, but Bond questions why previous spending levels were not maintained given the scale of the crises.

Thematic funding is also facing significant reductions. Funding for health ill be cut by 46% (GBP448 million or US$603 million), and the budget for Education, Gender & Equality will be reduced by 42% (GBP206 million or US$278 million). Bond's equality impact assessment found that 11 of the 13 programs proposed for closure were focused on gender equality or disability inclusion, and that the cuts will likely have negative impact on children.

On December 11, 2024, the UK announced a new GBP5 million (US$6 million) program with the RBM Partnership to End Malaria to boost global efforts to end malaria epidemic, stimulate growth, protect women and girls, and renew the push to eliminate malaria by 2030.

The announcement followed the launch of the WHO’s World Malaria Report 2024, which outlined that malaria remains a serious global health challenge and saw an increase of cases in 2023.

The UK’s pledge will support the RBM Partnership to End Malaria as it works to galvanize global leaders in the fight against malaria. UK is slated to include tackling resistance to malaria treatments and supporting efforts to control malaria in Cameroon, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda.

On December 9, 2024, the UK and other European countries accounced they would suspend the process of asylum applications from Syrians after the fall of the Assad regime in Damascus.

A spokesperson from the UK Home Office issued a statement temporarily pausing decisions on Syrian asylum claims whilst he government undergoes an assessment of the current situation.

The decision was made only one day after rebel forces seized the capital and the president fled to Russia. The impact on IDRCs in the UK and other parts of Europe remain to be seen.

On December 3, 2024, UK Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward made a speech at the FfD4 Second Preparatory event, highlighting the need to focus on international financial architecture reforms, and foster a bigger, better, and fairer financial system.

The FfD4 outcome hopes to build upon the Addis Ababa Action Agenda’s focus on an enabling environment, particularly towards women’s economic empowerment.

It will focus on vulnerability and the countries at risk of being left behind in order to improve shock responsiveness and progress State Contingent Debt Clauses and Disaster Risk Financing.

BII also announced a US$30 million investment in InfraCredit, to promote local currency financing to support the clean energy transition.

On November 25, 2024, the UK announced a new partnership with three women’s rights organizations in Kenya and South Africa to develop new preventative strategies to tackle online violence and abuse against women and girls.

The What Works to Prevent Violence: Impact at Scale program is a GBP68 million (US$88 million) program working to pioneer and scale-up effective approaches to ending GBV. The first phase of the program showed that UK can help reduce violence in homes, schools, and communities by 50% in under 3 years.

The program has recently awarded three new grants to women’s rights organizations:

• To CREAW in Kenya, in order to pioneer the use of media in preventing violence;
• To Soul City Institute in South Africa, to pioneer the use of mass media in preventing violence; and
• To Reach Digital Health in South Africa, to pioneer the use of technology such as chatbots in preventing violence.

The UK government is also funding a project called Safe Online: Preventing Technology-Facilitated GBV, which will be backed by more than GBP27 million (US$35 million) in UK-government funding; it is intended to help to support survivors of online violence and abuse, gather data to strengthen our understanding of this emerging threat, and minimize women’s exposure to harmful content by working with national regulators.

On November 15, 2024, Lord Ray Collins was appointed the UK Prime Minister’s Special Representative on PSVI.

As the Prime Minister’s Special Representative, Lord Collins will drive international action to tackle the issue, which disproportionally affects women and girls around the world and support survivors.

Lord Collins takes over the role from Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, who served in the role since 2017 and oversaw the UK host the 2022 PSVI Conference and launch the 2023 International Alliance on PSVI.

On September 18, 2024, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves gave her backing to the Invest in Women Taskforce, which aims to create one of the world’s largest investment funding pools for female founders.

The task force seeks to establish a funding pool of more than GBP250 million (US$299 million) for female-founded businesses through private capital. Reeves noted that support for women and their contribution to the economy is a personal priority as the UK's first female Chancellor, and she plans to play an active role in steering the Taskforce priorities and objectives by attending its meetings and events.

On International Equal Pay Day, Reeves hosted a reception in partnership with the Fawcett Society. The reception convened a group of female business leaders from across the UK’s foremost growth industries, such as financial services, technology, and the creative sector.

At the reception, Reeves set out her agenda for women in the economy, vowing to improve economic opportunities available to women and close the gender pay gap by strengthening rights at work and investing in childcare.

On August 22, 2024, UK Minister for International Development and Women and Equalities Anneliese Dodds made her first overseas visit as minister to South Sudan and Ethiopia.

Dodds met with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Taye Atske-Selassie and discussed UK support for peace and security, economic growth, and other critical development priorities across the region. She also met with AU Commissioner Bankole Adeoye.

In South Sudan, Dodds called for urgent humanitarian action for the crisis-hit nation and for the government to progress towards holding free and fair elections. She also announced a GBP86 million (US$103 million) package of support for the most vulnerable in the region, including GBP15 million (US$18 million) of new funding for a program to tackle endemic GBV in the region.

On August 7, 2024, BOND, the UK platform for international development NGOs, released its analysis of the FCDO’s annual accounts for FY2023/24 and confirmed a significant increase in spending on ODA from the FCDO in FY2023/24.

Excluding spending on the CSFF, FCDO’s ODA spending on programs increased just over a quarter, from GBP6.9 billion (US$8.3 billion) in FY2022/23 to GBP8.7 billion (US$10.4 billion) in FY2023/24. The split between ODA and non - ODA in the CSFF was not reported in FY2022/23.

BOND asserted that regional and bilateral spending fell in FY2023/24 by 3%, while FCDO spending on core multilateral programs increased by 79% in FY2023/24. FCDO spending also increased on climate, health, international financial institutions, and BII. FCDO spending, however, decreased in the education, gender and equality, and humanitarian, migration, and food security departments.

Looking ahead, BOND calculated that the FCDO’s overall spending, not limited to ODA, for FY2024/25 will be GBP11.8 billion (US$14.2 billion), representing a reduction of GBP552 million (US$661 million), or 4.4%, compared to the previous government’s plans for FCDO spending in FY2024/25. The overall reduction is attributed to the continued high levels of ODA spending on refugees in the UK as well as the fact that the UK ODA budget is currently expected to return to 0.5% ODA/GNI in 2024 after reaching 0.6% ODA/GNI in 2023.

BOND observed that the revised FCDO spending plans for FY2024/25 will see an increase in bilateral and central programs, but a cut in core multilateral programs. Spending on FCDO operating costs, frontline diplomacy, and overseas network will remain at similar levels.