London’s aid to Mozambique drops 90% by 2029

The British Government foresees reducing bilateral aid to Mozambique by 90% by 2029, falling from the current 58.5 million euros to 5.8 million euros annually, while maintaining cooperation on energy transition initiatives. The reduction fits into the British strategy to gradually decrease official development assistance to the equivalent of 0.3% of Gross National Income by 2027, following the Government’s decision to channel more resources into defense spending. The figures are contained in the 2025/26 Annual Report and Accounts of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom, consulted Saturday by Lusa, which details projections for official development assistance funding for coming years.

According to the document, Mozambique will receive 50.6 million pounds (58.5 million euros) in 2025/26, a figure expected to drop to 27.8 million pounds (32.1 million euros) in the following financial year, 15.9 million pounds (18.4 million euros) in 2027/28, and five million pounds (5.8 million euros) in 2028/29. Mozambique is among the countries most affected by the revision of British aid, alongside Malawi, both facing projected cuts of 90% by 2028/29. In the case of the neighboring country, bilateral aid is expected to drop to five million pounds (5.8 million euros) in 2028/29.

The FCDO also projects reductions of 83% for Rwanda, down to an equal figure of five million pounds, as well as Sierra Leone. The report mentions that the United Kingdom allocated globally around 8.7 billion pounds (10.1 billion euros) to official development assistance during the 2025/26 financial year, corresponding to approximately 71% of the total FCDO budget, but that the new approach favors a smaller number of partnerships considered to have higher strategic impact. Despite the sharp reduction projected for Mozambique, London states it will maintain cooperation areas considered priority, namely in energy transition and climate change.

[paywall]

In this context, the report highlights that, during COP30, the United Kingdom agreed on a clean energy action plan with Mozambique, integrated into a series of similar initiatives also signed with the African Union, the Caribbean, Chile, and Colombia. The document does not detail the amount associated with the action plan with Mozambique, but frames it within the British policy of supporting clean energy, climate resilience, and sustainable development. The figures presented also show that British bilateral aid to Mozambique has experienced significant fluctuations in recent years.

In 2020, it stood at 52.9 million pounds (61.2 million euros), dropping to 32.5 million pounds (37.6 million euros) in 2021, 29 million pounds (33.5 million euros) in 2022, and 31 million pounds (35.9 million euros) in 2023, before rising to 47.4 million pounds (54.8 million euros) in 2024. The same report also indicates that British humanitarian assistance allocated to Mozambique increased from 4.7 million pounds (5.4 million euros) in 2023 to 17.6 million pounds (20.4 million euros) in 2024, reflecting an increased priority on emergency support.

[/paywall]