Donald Trump signed an executive order freezing all foreign development assistance for 90 days on 20th January 2025. At the end of February, Sir Keir Starmer slashed the UK aid budget to raise defence spending, the Netherlands slashed 30% of its aid budget, Belgium cut aid by 25%, whilst France called for an efficiency review of its budget by 37%. Against this tide, AIDN was pleased to see that the Australian Government has just stated its intention to be “a reliable partner in uncertain times” in the 2025-26 Federal Budget. However, AIDN also believes that the Budget could have been a critical moment for Australia to increase the ODA budget and become a leader amidst a period of great change and turmoil in the sector. We support key campaigns like the “Safer World for All“, which advocates for an increase of the Australian Aid Budget to 1% of the overall federal budget.
In response to these major changes in our sector, AIDN recently co-hosted an emergency briefing together with Philanthropy Australia, Unlock Aid, Adara Development and World Vision: “The Changing Face of Global Aid”. The Panel consisted of Walter Kerr (Unlock AID), Susan Biggs (Adara Development) and Daniel Wordsworth (World Vision Australia). We learned that the global humanitarian need has trebled from 2018 to over 300 Million people – the same population as the USA. A strong call to action was made for philanthropy to consider now as a matter of urgency the compelling case for global giving.
Feature image: Unsplash/Julien de Salaberry/ Inle Lake, Myanmar.