The College is concerned by the plan to cut Overseas Development Assistance. We back a call from The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges for the UK to continue its world-leading role in delivering aid and healthcare. The Academy's full statement can be read below:

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges is the umbrella organisation for all the medical colleges in the UK and our members organisations are all deeply concerned by the UK Government’s planned cuts to overseas development assistance (ODA).

The evidence clearly shows that money spent through this scheme improves health, saving lives that would otherwise be cut short, dramatically reduces child and maternal mortality and helps build sustainable communities and economies.

Projects funded by UK overseas development assistance also provide direct benefits to the NHS. UK-based clinicians work on placements overseas alongside their local counterparts to improve standards of care and clinical practice. This collaboration makes them better doctors and nurses, which in turn, benefits all of us at home.

Global health security is only as strong as its weakest link. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of international collaboration and mutual support. As countries across the globe work to manage and recover from the pandemic, it is vital that the UK Government maintains its leading role and our commitments to other nations. This is even more important in the year the UK holds the G7 Presidency, with G7 leaders coming to Cornwall this week to work together on tackling the world’s biggest challenges.

The UK has a proud history as a global leader in health, care and delivering aid that makes a real difference to people‘s lives. We must not abandon that position. The arbitrary nature of the application of the cuts to the ODA budget has already caused massive destabilisation of programmes that are having a real, measurable impact on health and we urge the whole of government to immediately rethink this issue. We urge politicians to rethink plans to reduce our commitment to supporting poorer nations.