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22
Jun 2021
World Health Organisation warns UK aid cuts risk millions of lives
The World Health Organisation has said that cuts to the UK’s aid budget will leave millions of the world’s poorest people at risk of dying from “neglected tropical diseases”.
They added that prior to its aid cuts, the UK provided funding to 19 countries through its “flagship” health programme Accelerating the Sustainable Control and Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases. These include trachoma, elephantiasis and Guinea Worm, which mainly affect people in the poorest countries.
A large proportion of the UK’s aid helped distribute lifesaving medicines but without that help, the agency said it was likely 277 million tablets would expire and have to be incinerated.
They added “No obvious alternative source of funding exists to fill the funding gaps that will be left by the exit of Ascend.”
The Foreign Office said the financial impact of the pandemic had forced it to take tough decisions to leave programmes that treated these diseases. They added in a statement “The seismic impact of the pandemic forced the tough decision to temporarily reduce the aid budget and exit some programmes, including the Accelerating the Sustainable Control and Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases programme.
“We will spend more than £10bn this year to fight poverty, tackle climate change and improve global health, including £1.3bn on global health.
“We will focus on the UK’s position at the forefront of the international response to Covid-19, and will continue to support programmes in countries affected by neglected tropical diseases.”
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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.
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