UK Halts Aid to Russia, Moldova, UN agencies

Britain has slashed 16 countries including Russia and Moldova from the list of nations it gives financial aid to and said it would no longer fund four “irrelevant” UN aid organisations.

International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said the government was halting contributions to the four United Nations aid organisations because they “PERFORMED POORLY OR FAILED TO DEMONSTRATE RELEVANCE”.

He told parliament on Tuesday it was “no longer acceptable” for Britain to fund the UN Industrial Development Organisation, UN-Habitat, the International Labour Organisation, and the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. The cut in funding to the UN bodies is expected to save more than £50 million.

Mitchell confirmed that Britain’s bilateral programmes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Moldova, Niger, Russia, Serbia etc. would come to an end.