UK Autumn Budget: Labour must urgently restore its levels of Official Development Assistance, says WaterAid

on
30 October 2024
Image: WaterAid/ Zula Rabikowska

 

Today, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves presented Labour’s first budget since being elected to government. BOND, UK network for NGOs, has published its analysis of the budget, confirming drops in departmental allocations for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA). 

In response to the UK’s 2024 Autumn Budget, Tim Wainwright Chief Executive of WaterAid said:

“The UK government's Autumn Budget aims to "fix the foundations to deliver on its promise of change" - a mandate of change that includes delivering a global reset on climate and international development. Yet, todays' Autumn Statement has failed to progress this agenda.

“With 1 in 10 people worldwide lacking access to clean water, Labour's manifesto vision of a "world free from poverty on a liveable planet" will fail unless the UK does more to invest in water - the global foundation of life, prosperity, health and security.

“Looking forward, Labour must urgently restore its levels of Official Development Assistance to support those on the frontline of the global water and climate crisis and ensure stability and prosperity at home and abroad - only then can we truly fix the foundations of life.”

ENDS

For media queries, please contact WaterAid’s press line on 020 7793 4537, or email [email protected]. 

Notes to editors

About WaterAid

WaterAid is an international not-for-profit determined to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. We work alongside communities in 22 countries to secure these three essentials that transform people’s lives. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 28 million people with clean water and nearly 29 million people with decent toilets.

For more information, visit our website wateraid.org/uk; follow us on Twitter @WaterAidUK, @WaterAid or @WaterAidPress; or find us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram.

  • 703 million people in the world – almost one in ten – don’t have clean water close to home.
  • 2.2 billion people in the world – more than one in four – don’t have safe water.
  • Almost 2 billion people in the world – one in four – lack soap and/or water to wash their hands at home, if they have a place at all.
  • 1.5 billion people in the world – almost one in five – don’t have a decent toilet of their own.
  • 570 million people in the world – 1 in 14 – have a decent toilet but have to share it with people outside their family. This compromises the privacy, dignity and safety of women and girls.1
  • Almost 400,000 children under five die every year due to diseases caused by unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene. That's more than 1000 children a day, or almost one child every one and a half minutes.2
  • Investing in safely managed water, sanitation and hygiene services provides up to 21 times more value than it costs.3

1: WHO/UNICEF (2023), Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2022: special focus on gender (accessed 11 Jul 2023)

2: WHO (2023), Burden of disease attributable to unsafe drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene: 2019 update (accessed 24 Jul 2023)

3: WaterAid (2021), Mission-critical: Invest in water, sanitation and hygiene for a healthy and green economic recovery (accessed 1 Nov 2023).

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