Lead

The British government has scrapped a £45 million programme designed to help one million girls across Africa, Asia and the Middle East access higher education, just two years after it was announced. The decision has drawn criticism from Labour MP Bambos Charalambous and development groups, who say it contradicts the government's repeated pledges to make women and girls a foreign policy priority.

Coverage comparison

The scrapping of the programme, known as the Strengthening Higher Education for Female Empowerment (SHEFE), was first reported by Africa News and The Guardian. Both outlets noted the programme had a £45 million budget and was intended to expand university opportunities for women and girls, with the goal of helping to delay child marriage, reduce gender-based violence, and improve economic opportunities.

Africa News framed the decision as coming "despite repeated government pledges to make women and girls a foreign policy priority," while The Guardian highlighted the programme's cancellation just two years after it was unveiled by the outgoing Conservative government. The Guardian reported that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has withdrawn the tender for the programme.

Both outlets quoted Labour MP Bambos Charalambous, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on global education, describing the move as "alarming." The Guardian noted that Charalambous expressed concern that the programme appears to have been scrapped "because of the aid cuts," and called for thinking "now about how to build back from the aid cuts to save similar projects."

Key claims

  • Programme scale and purpose: SHEFE was designed to expand university opportunities for women and girls, with the aim of helping delay child marriage, reduce gender-based violence, and improve economic opportunities. The programme targeted one million girls across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, according to both Africa News and The Guardian.
  • Government justification: The Foreign Office says the reductions are needed to help fund increased defence spending, as reported by Africa News. The department insists that programmes tackling violence against women and girls remain protected.
  • Aid budget cuts: The Guardian reported that the UK aid budget would be cut from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% in 2027. Africa News cited UNICEF data indicating that global aid for education is expected to fall by 24% by 2026.
  • Visa restrictions: The Guardian reported that the Home Office has blocked new study visas for applicants from Afghanistan, Sudan, Myanmar, and Cameroon, which could affect women whose opportunities to study in their own countries were already restricted.
  • Official commitment: The Guardian reported that in May, Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, stressed her commitment to women and girls, declaring they were a priority at the FCDO and that she was "determined to work across borders to ensure women's safety is a worldwide priority."

Perspectives

The government has not publicly commented on the specific decision to scrap SHEFE beyond the Foreign Office's statement on the need to fund defence spending and the protection of programmes addressing violence against women and girls. Labour MP Bambos Charalambous has voiced alarm, warning that the aid cuts risk undermining years of progress in empowering women through education. Development groups, as reported by Africa News, say the cancellation follows a series of cuts to UK-funded education programmes in countries including South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ethiopia.