A SCOTTISH minister has slammed a confirmed 90% cut to the UK's aid budget for Malawi, branding it "alarming".
The UK Government is taking what Oxfam has described as a "sledgehammer" to overseas aid from 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) to 0.5% and has set out plans to further cut it to 0.3% by 2027.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office plans to cut aid to Africa from £1.4bn in 2025/26 to £693m by 2028-29, with the Americas going from £105m to £54m, Asia Pacific from £233m to £104m, and Europe from £42m to £40m.
Among the cuts is a huge reduction in aid going to Malawi, with the budget being cut from £50m to £5m by 2028/29.
The Scottish Government has a formal cooperation agreement with Malawi and John Swinney visited the country last year.
In a letter to the UK Government in December, he raised concerns about the "drastic" plans stressing the "urgent" need for ongoing aid.
Malawi is one of the least developed countries in the world and around 22% of the population experienced high levels of acute food insecurity between October 2025 and March 2026.
Simita Kumar, Minister for International Development, said the cut to Malawi's budget risks undermining hard-won progress that will be felt "acutely".
She said: "The newly published UK aid allocations are deeply concerning. The scale of the reductions now confirmed for Malawi is particularly alarming.
"A cut of almost 90% over three years represents a fundamental change in the UK's development relationship with one of Scotland's longest-standing international partners. Similar reductions are planned for Rwanda and Zambia.
“At a time when these countries continue to face significant economic, social and climate-related challenges, cuts of this scale risk undermining hard-won progress and will be felt most acutely by vulnerable communities.
"We strongly urge the UK Government to reconsider the scale of these reductions and to set out clearly how it intends to maintain meaningful support for countries facing significant development challenges.
“The Scottish Government remains committed to being a good global citizen and to supporting our longstanding partner countries, including Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia."
The SNP Government has committed to increasing Scotland's International Development Fund by a further 25% over the course of this Parliament.
Scotland and Malawi have a long shared history, beginning with David Livingstone's journeys up the Zambezi and Shire rivers to Lake Malawi in 1859.
Both the Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland had established missions in Malawi by the 1870s and it became a British protectorate in 1891.
Katherine May, Oxfam Scotland advocacy adviser, said prime minister in waiting Andy Burnham should "choose a different path" and reverse the foreign aid cuts.
She said: "The UK Government is taking a sledgehammer to aid spending at a time when conflict, hunger and climate disasters are driving need to staggeringly high levels.
"The consequences won't be felt by those sitting in comfort in Whitehall; they'll be felt in communities where more children go hungry and more people die of preventable deaths because the support they rely on has been callously ripped away.
“The new prime minister should choose a different path and immediately reverse these damaging cuts before even more harm is done. The UK has no shortage of wealth; what’s missing is the political will to use it to help save lives."
May added that while the Scottish Government's commitment to increase the International Development Fund is welcome, ministers should "deliver it swiftly" as Westminster "pulls back".
"Scotland's contribution may be small in size, but it sends a powerful message that, in a world of deepening crises, we will not turn our backs on people who need help the most," she added.
