Lisa Wise, Director of Global Outcomes, Save the Children UK:
“Today’s international budget allocations reflect what we already know – reductions in public investment in countries and children that need it most. These choices send a global message about the role the UK wants to play on the international stage.
Whilst the continued prioritisation of some humanitarian contexts such as Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan is critical, this does not go far enough. More than 520 million children, about one in five globally, are living in conflict zones. Around the world, 50 children are born into hunger every minute whilst facing unprecedented threats from the climate crisis.
The incoming Prime Minister has an important opportunity to step up, to prioritise international co-operation and ensure that the rights of children are at the heart of foreign policy. This must include investing in building resilience to crisis and ensuring countries have access to affordable and accessible financing, so they can directly address the challenges that impact children.
This year has made clear that the challenges facing children globally do not stop at national borders. Record breaking heatwaves, rising food prices, and the highest levels of international displacement. In an interconnected world, the UK should be stepping up its international leadership, not retreating from it.”
ENDS