Cutting aid for disease fund would be moral failure, Labour MPs tell Starmer

A group of seven Labour MPs who served as ministers under Keir Starmer have written to the prime minister warning that an expected cut to UK funding for aid to combat preventable diseases would be both a “moral failure” and a strategic disaster.

With ministers and officials expected to decide the UK’s contribution to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria within days, the letter renews pressure on Starmer to pull back from an expected 20% cut.

Dozens of other Labour MPs have already expressed alarm at the idea of the UK slashing its contribution to the Global Fund, especially as this would be announced on the sidelines of next month’s G20 summit in South Africa, which Starmer is attending.

There is wider concern about Starmer’s apparent reluctance to involve the UK in development projects, with his government deciding on the eve of the Cop30 climate summit to not contribute to a fund for the world’s remaining tropical forests.

Aid groups have said that if the UK contribution to the Global Fund for 2027-29 is cut from £1bn to £800m, as has been discussed by senior government officials, it would badly hamper the work of one of the most cost-effective aid programmes of modern times, and could cause up to 340,000 avoidable deaths.

The letter to Starmer is private, and only two of the signatories, Gareth Thomas and Fleur Anderson, have chosen to say they are involved. But all seven were junior ministers under Starmer, losing their jobs in September’s reshuffle.

Thomas, who was minister for Africa under Gordon Brown and served as a business minister for Starmer, said that in the earlier role he had seen the impact of the Global Fund’s work first-hand, for example mothers able to protect their unborn children from HIV infection because of antiretroviral drugs provided by the Switzerland-based organisation.

“These were not abstract statistics. They were healthy babies who would not have survived without this assistance. The question now is whether we have the will to see this through,” he said.

“Since 2002, this remarkable partnership has saved 70 million lives and built resilient health systems across the world. We face a stark choice: stand firm and maintain our commitment or retreat from one of the world’s greatest health achievements.

“The cost of retreat would be devastating. A 20% cut to Britain’s pledge would result in nearly 6m preventable infections, putting the most vulnerable – especially children – at serious risk. Such a move would not only be a moral failure but a strategic one.”

Thomas highlighted the UK’s decision earlier this year to cut support for another major international aid project, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi).

The £1.25bn commitment to Gavi over five years was 24% lower than the sum pledged by Boris Johnson for 2021-25. It was, however, more than had been feared by many in the aid sector after the decision by the UK government to cut its foreign aid commitment from 0.7% of national income to 0.5%, which will then fall to 0.3% in 2027, with speculation ministers might have increased the sum due to political pressure and media coverage.

The reduction in Gavi funding was “a troubling signal of retreat”, Thomas said, adding: “We are moving in the wrong direction, precisely when we must defend international cooperation and multilateralism most vigorously.”

He went on: “But this is about more than health. It’s about Britain’s national security. Healthy communities that can learn, work and thrive create stable, resilient societies. Tackling disease in the poorest countries alleviates the conditions that fuel instability, displacement and conflict.”

Other Labour MPs have highlighted the particular risk over HIV and Aids, given developments such as the slashing of US aid funding. Another private letter saw 43 backbenchers write to Starmer on this.

Aid groups say a cut to UK money for the Global Fund would risk overturning years of progress in combating the diseases, particularly after the collapse in US aid.

Last month, polling commissioned by a major aid group found that 62% of Britons believe the government should maintain or increase its support for the Global Fund. The polling was conducted by More in Common for the One Campaign.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “The UK continues work with the Global Fund to play a significant role in the global response to fight disease globally. Our work has contributed to saving 70 million lives and reducing the combined death rate from HIV, TB and Malaria by 63%.

“We remain firmly committed to tackling global health challenges, not only because it is right, but to help deliver the plan for change in the UK by supporting global stability and growth.”