Africa is going to be hit hard as the UK cuts foreign aid.

The United Kingdom has shared its plans to reduce foreign aid, and the biggest cuts will affect children’s education and women’s health in Africa.

In February, the government announced it would reduce foreign aid spending by 40% – from 0.5% of the gross national income to 0.3% – to boost defense spending to 2.5% after pressure from the US.

A report from the Foreign Office shows that this year, the largest cuts will impact Africa, leading to less funding for women’s health and water sanitation, which increases the risks of disease and death.

Bond, a UK network of aid organizations, stated that women and children in the most disadvantaged communities will suffer the most.

However, the government mentioned that funding for multilateral aid organizations, like the World Bank, will be protected, including the Gavi vaccine alliance, and the UK will continue to play an important humanitarian role in crisis areas like Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan.

Baroness Chapman, the minister for development, said: “Every pound must work harder for UK taxpayers and the people we help around the world, and these figures show how we are starting to do just that by having clear focus and priorities.”

The government explained that the cuts come after a detailed review of aid by the minister, which aimed at prioritizing, being efficient, protecting planned humanitarian support, and responsibly exiting programs when needed.

The Foreign Office stated that bilateral support, which is aid going directly to the recipient country, will decrease for some nations, and multilateral organizations that are not performing well will face future funding cuts. They have not yet revealed which countries will be impacted.

Bond pointed out that it is clear the government is “deprioritizing” funding for education, gender issues, and countries facing humanitarian crises like South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia, and surprisingly the