The United Kingdom has announced a 31.2 per cent cut in development aids to The Gambia, following the massive reduction by the British government in overseas assistance to enable it fund domestic priorities and increase defence spending.
The move comes as the US, Germany and other European countries scale back aid budgets to fund defence spending and other domestic economic programmes.
According to figures released by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in its 2025-2026 Annual Report and Accounts, The Gambia’s allocation will drop by 31.2 per cent to D190,190,000 in the 2028-2029 financial year, down from D277,249,300 in 2025-2026 under a new three-year plan.
The cut is part of a broader overhaul that will affect all 34 African countries, with some facing reductions as high as 92.5 per cent.
The Labour government said the target was to reduce the Official Development Assistance, ODA, budget to 0.3 per cent of Gross National Income by 2027, down from 0.7 per cent, to fund what it called a “necessary increase in spending on defence”.
FCDO said in an accompanying statement in the Annual Report: “The Department’s ODA spending plans for 2026-29 reflect the trajectory of this reduction and how the UK is modernising its approach to development, in line with the Foreign Secretary’s 19th March 2026 Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS1425) and Oral Statement to the House…”
Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the cuts followed difficult decisions but insisted that Britain was not “walking away from our values.”
Cooper said in a March 19, 2026 statement to parliament: “In a range of countries, we will transition away from spending high levels of grant ODA, but our ambition and effort will remain high, delivering through modernised partnerships, and making the most of what the UK has to offer.
According to the UK government, priority will be given to war-torn countries and those facing serious humanitarian crises.
African countries, such as The Gambia, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, and Senegal, including West Africa Department, saw a 31.4 per cent aid cut to £1.9 million from £2.77 million in 2025/2026 period.
Overall, UK aid to Africa will fall by 23.7 per cent to £639.81 million in 2029 from £1.45 billion in 2026.