DSA response to cuts to aid programmes: actions for DSA members
The termination of USAID contracts, the continued cuts to Dutch aid and the UK government’s announcement add to the reduction in aid contributions across OECD countries in 2024, representing a significant loss of global aid. These decisions will impact many humanitarian programmes, civil society organisations, development initiatives and research programmes throughout the world.
Millions of people will be impacted by the cuts to these funds. The DSA recognises that behind aid programmes and initiatives are individuals that rely on these systems to receive health, education, safety and other essential services.
Beyond the frontline, these cuts will also continue to have negative impacts, affecting safety and security across borders, responses to infectious diseases, climate preparedness and resilience and our collective ability to respond to disasters.
DSA expresses solidarity to all those impacted by these changes and we support those working in aid and development across the world at this challenging time.
As a home of critical thinking, development researchers are also aware that individual aid programmes can be flawed; and that the aid system as a whole is based on structural inequality, and does not address that structural inequality. Many researchers have done extensive work to look at how solutions and initiatives can be better designed, implemented and managed to be more just, sustainable and transparent; at the project, programme and structural levels.
We urge those working across the disciplines of development studies to:
- Utilise this critical juncture as a chance to deepen dialogue with those in the global South impacted by these changes. The DSA decolonisation directory can be used to register research on this subject and to learn more on the topic from those with expertise. The DSA members directory allows members to connect with others on initiatives to amplify the voices of those working to make aid work for .
- Join and develop discourses that communicate the positive potential of development done differently and conversations that demonstrate the interconnectedness of local development with foreign aid. The DSA are organising a series of online panel discussions to spark conversations about how we can move these conversations forward, details below. We also encourage DSA members to share insights and researched commentary on the issues related to building better aid systems to share these with us for publication and dissemination.
What DSA is doing:
- We have convened two online discussions:
- 8 April: What next for our broken aid system?
- 29 April: UK aid under Labour
- We are proactively talking to researchers to talk about some of the issues related to aid on the theme of reimagining better futures and will share insights and learning as well as the potential for us to do further work in these areas. Insights from these conversations will be posted on LinkedIn.
- We have researchers attending panels and discussions at global fora on this topic including: the AAG, the RGS and DSA conferences as well as EADI events in Europe.
- We are talking to Bond, the network of international development NGOs.
- We encourage our Study Groups to consider using DSA funding to hold extra-ordinary activity to address the fallout from these changes as relevant to their area of research.
- We will amplify the actions and research of our Institutional Members working on related solutions and research.