Figures released from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) reveal that the total spend on global health research by the FCDO’s central Research and Evidence Directorate was dramatically reduced last year (2021/22).
The figures published in answer to a written parliamentary question that covered the last five financial years are as follows:
| Financial year | Total spend on global health research |
| 2018/19 | £132,330,000 |
| 2019/20 | £155,410,000 |
| 2020/21 | £371,860,000 |
| 2021/22 | £75,330,000 |
| 2022/23 | Final and audited spend for 2022/23 will be published in the FCDO annual report at the end of the financial year |
| Total | £734,930,000 |
In response, Professor Melissa Leach, Director, Institute of Development Studies, said:
“This shameful cut in global health spending – even compared with pre-Covid-19 2018/19 levels – reduces our ability to invest in tackling the global health challenges that affect all of us in our ever more interconnected world.
“With the Covid-19 pandemic not over, these spending cuts damage the UK’s reputation for global health research excellence and our ability to invest in the research needed to address urgent health challenges such as anti-microbial resistance, neglected tropical diseases – as well preparing for future pandemics. These all call for more investment not less.”
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