The UK Government’s Strategy for International Development
Bond's analysis of what it says and what needs to happen next
The UK government published its strategy for international development in May 2022, which sets out its approach to international development over the following decade. This paper analyses the strategy and makes some suggestions for next steps.
This is the first international development strategy since the creation of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the publication of the Integrated Review in 2020. It comes following a turbulent few years marked by a change in foreign secretary, significant budget cuts, a reorganisation of senior officials and two major foreign policy and humanitarian crises – in Afghanistan and then Ukraine.
This paper analyses the content of the strategy and makes some suggestions for its implementation. It first reviews the most significant changes in the UK government’s approach to development assistance, before analysing each of the strategy’s four priorities: trade and investment, women and girls, humanitarian action, and climate, nature and global health. The paper will then discuss other parts of the strategy that are most relevant to civil society beyond the priorities and in how the UK government plans to deliver the strategy.
It was written in consultation with the members of Bond’s working groups, including the Child Rights, Conflict Policy, Disability and Development, Humanitarian Policy, Sustainable Development Goals and Transparency Groups. The paper also draws on expert analysis from Action for Global Health (AFGH), Climate Action Network UK (CAN-UK), the Gender and Development Network (GADN) and the Trade Justice Movement (TJM).
