An MP writes ahead of the UK's 2026 G20 presidency to argue that successive cuts to the UK aid budget are causing real harm abroad and undermining Britain's role as a reliable global partner. Drawing on a visit to a refugee camp in Ethiopia, the author describes how a deaf nine-year-old girl, Amina, lost access to a sign-language teacher and hearing device when NGO funding dried up, illustrating how aid cuts disrupt education, healthcare and support for disabled children across Africa. The author argues aid should be seen not as charity but as an investment in global security, helping prevent conflict, fight poverty and hunger, and guard against future pandemics.

The piece cites visits to Nairobi to see eye-care programmes and work with Battersea-based charity Able Child Africa, both said to be at risk from reduced UK funding. It also highlights that 32 African countries reportedly spend more repaying external debt to private creditors than on health and education combined, disproportionately hurting women, children and disabled people. The author urges the incoming prime minister to use the UK's G20 presidency to push global financial reform, tackle the debt crisis and restore Britain's ambition on international aid.