GAPS Statement on ODA Allocations: Commitment to women and girls welcome, but at risk amid cuts

On Thursday 19 March, the UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper announced the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme allocations for 2026/27-2028/29. This announcement follows last years decision by the government to fund increased defence spending by reducing ODA spending to 0.3% of Gross National Income (GNI) by 2027.

We welcome commitments made to prioritising women and girls within the FCDO and the protection of central funding for Violence Against Women and Girls, the Women, Peace and Security agenda and Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict. However, these steps do not guarantee meaningful resourcing and significant reductions in overall ODA do not match the scale of global need.

We maintain that the only way to truly put women and girls at the heart of foreign policy will be to reverse the cuts and work ever more closely with allies and women human rights defenders to fight rollback.

Read our full statement here.