Responding to the closure of FCDO funded UK Partnerships for Health Systems programme, due to aid cuts, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs and International Development Spokesperson Layla Moran MP said: “I’m appalled that the Government has cancelled the UK Partnerships for Health Systems programme. I cannot believe that during a global pandemic the Conservatives are taking money away from the very programmes that are designed to build resilient health systems in developing countries.
“This is both unforgivable and incredibly short-sighted. The Government are sowing the seeds of the next pandemic with these cuts. Nobody is safe until everyone is safe. Britain is seemingly not only abandoning the world’s poorest but also any hope of ending this pandemic worldwide.
“The Liberal Democrats will stand up against these cuts and for the 0.7% of GNI commitment, which we enshrined in law. The Government must immediately publish all details of its planned aid spending this financial year and tell us if any impact assessments for Covid-19 efforts were carried out first. It’s time for them to come clean.”