Official Development Assistance

Baroness Sugg Excerpts

Tuesday 13th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg (Con)]

My Lords, I will speak in relation to family planning and sexual and reproductive health, which are core components of effective humanitarian aid, not add-ons. SRHR services are at high risk of being disrupted during conflict and displacement, with lack of access to essential sexual and reproductive health services a leading cause of death for displaced women and girls.

In 2024, the United Kingdom’s funding for family planning is estimated to have enabled 11 million women to access modern contraception. In a single year, it prevented an estimated 3.7 million unintended pregnancies, including 1.2 million unsafe abortions and 1.3 million unplanned births, and is estimated, crucially, to have averted almost 4,000 maternal deaths in low- and middle-income countries. These are not abstract statistics. They represent women who survived childbirth, girls who stayed in school and families able to plan their futures. Yet this progress is under serious threat as global funding cuts converge with multiple crises and conflicts.

While we await the final UK decisions on future spending, modelling from the Guttmacher Institute shows that a 30% reduction in UK family planning funding alone would mean 3.3 million fewer people reached, more than 1 million additional unintended pregnancies and an estimated 1,170 additional maternal deaths.

This is also a question of value for money. Every pound invested in family planning yields almost £27 in social and economic benefits. Voluntary, rights-based family planning underpins social stability, gender equality and economic growth, and contributes to long-term resilience.

I recognise the importance of sustainability, country ownership and, indeed, partnership. We can use modern financing tools and delivery models as well, through debt relief, private sector innovation and smarter, accountable financing that delivers lasting results.

UNFPA’s work through the Supplies Partnership has helped Governments increase domestic contraceptive spending fivefold since 2020. But transition must be predictable; sudden funding withdrawals risk reversing hard-won gains. I have heard the Minister talk about gender mainstreaming, but I think that there is a clear case for specific programming too.

I urge the Government to protect spending on sexual and reproductive health and rights within ODA. It is not only the right thing to do; it is one of the smartest investments we can make, and it is part of the solution to nearly every major global challenge that we face.