Gemma Chan says UK aid cuts cannot be borne by ‘most vulnerable children'

Leader Live

20-05-2025

Chan, 42, who is also a Unicef ambassador, delivered the open letter on Monday, calling on the UK government to ensure that 25% of the aid budget is spent on 'life-saving and life-changing work for children'.
The letter comes after the UK government announced it would cut foreign aid from 0.5% gross national income (GNI) to 0.3% from 2027, in order to increase defence spending.
Signatories included Oscar-winning actress Olivia Colman, pop star Robbie Williams, 15 development organisations and more than 40,000 members of the UK public.
Speaking to PA news agency, Chan said: 'We're definitely living in a really challenging time and difficult decisions are having to be made, but I feel that these decisions shouldn't be borne by the most vulnerable children in the world.
'Things like vaccinations, access to health care, they're a human right. No matter where a child lives, they deserve access to that.
'Today is really about just making sure that we're speaking up at this really difficult time for people that don't have anyone advocating for them.'
The actress recently travelled to Malawi with Unicef UK and saw the ways UK funding has helped develop solutions to overcome healthcare and climate change challenges.
A post shared by Gemma Chan (@gemmachan)
This includes using solar panels to help improve health in rural communities by extending the shelf life of vaccines by keeping them refrigerated, and using drones to help speed up test results and to deliver health supplies.
This is supported by the African Drone and Data Academy, which trains young people to use satellite technology to map flooding damage and better predict weather patterns to improve agriculture, health and emergency responses.
Chan added: 'I'm really inspired by the young people that I meet in the course of doing my work with Unicef and trips like this trip to Malawi.
'I think it's really important not to lose hope, and it's really important to support the people that are really doing tireless, not necessarily very glamorous work, but working every day to make sure that children everywhere are given a good chance that (they are) growing up healthy and to be able to pursue their hopes and their dreams.'
Speaking about the open letter, Chan emphasised that aid for children should be 'prioritised'.
She said: '(The letter is) calling on the government to make sure that, in spite of the recent decisions and the cuts to international aid, that aid for children is prioritised and to make sure that 25% of the budget is spent on these vital programmes for children in areas such as health, nutrition, education, sanitation and just to make sure that the world's most vulnerable children aren't bearing the brunt of these really difficult decisions.'
Homeland actor David Harewood also signed the letter alongside British-Somali Olympic boxer Ramla Ali, who fled Somalia with her family as a child and went on to compete for the world title.
The open letter says: 'We know that by almost every measure, 2024 was one of the worst years on record for children in conflict.
'Cutting critical aid again, this time even more drastically, will put their lives at risk and undo decades of progress.
'The UK's commitment to spend 0.7% of gross national income on aid demonstrated our leadership and our compassion. The decision to cut it to 0.3% will make it impossible for this government to achieve its aspirations of tackling extreme poverty, addressing the climate crisis and building long-term global security.'