Event

Aid in an age of security: What should the UK’s global priorities be?

This event hosted by UK think tank Chatham House examines the security and geopolitical stakes of this historic shift in global aid.

The global aid system is under more pressure than it has been in decades. Spending by the 17 largest aid donors is projected to fall by billions between 2023 and 2026. Major reductions from France, the UK and Germany have contributed, but the most dramatic has been the United States’ 2025 decision to shutter USAID, cancelling over 80% of its aid contracts in 2025. This comes alongside growing uncertainty over the US’s support for multilateral institutions central to humanitarian and development response.

These cuts will have immediate human costs—undermining food security, health, education and relief for those caught in crisis. But the wider consequences extend further. Reduced aid spending and weakening international institutions will undermine how the world responds to conflict, manages humanitarian emergencies and provides global public goods such as pandemic preparedness and climate action. At the same time, Western retreat creates new opportunities for Russia and China, to position themselves as security or development partners of choice to countries in the Global South. This raises questions about the future of global development norms, and the balance of power in international institutions.

Key questions to be discussed by the panel include:

• How will reduced aid capacity affect the international system’s ability to respond to conflict and manage humanitarian crises?
• What might the security consequences be for Western and other donor countries?
• What role might Russia and China play as Western donors retreat, and could this shift global power dynamics?
• Are there alternative models or coalitions that could sustain global public goods in the absence of strong US leadership?
• What steps should the UK, European partners, and other aligned allies take to mitigate these risks and sustain an effective aid system?

Speakers

Event chaired by Olivia O’Sullivan.

Olivia O’Sullivan – Director, UK in the World Programme

Baroness Catherine Ashton – High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President, European Commission (2009-14)

James Cowan – Chief Executive Officer, The Halo Trust

Clare Short – Former UK Secretary of State for International Development (1997-2003)