Full Breakdown
UK Cancels £45 million SHEFE Programme Amid Aid Cuts and Defence Funding Shift
7/4/2026, 11:55:58 AM
SHEFE Programme Cancelled
FCDO withdrew the tender for SHEFE, a £45 million scheme to keep one million women and girls in higher education across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The cancellation was announced in July 2026, two years after the programme’s launch by the outgoing Conservative government.
Aid Cuts and Defence Funding
UK ODA reduced from 0.5 % to 0.3 % of GNI for 2027, below the UN 0.7 % target. The government says reallocation funds increased defence spending, citing national security as priority.
Official Position and Key Actors
Yvette Cooper said women’s safety remains a priority. An FCDO spokesperson said “National security is the first duty of this government” and that protecting women and girls “is now a Foreign Office priority.” Labour MP Bambos Charalambous, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on education, warned cancellation undermines partnerships with institutions and universities. Home Office blocked visas for Afghanistan, Sudan, Myanmar and Cameroon.
Funding and Projected Impact
SHEFE’s budget was £45 million (? KES 7.42 billion). The FCDO Girls’ Education Department lost 51 % of its funding. UNICEF projects a 24 % drop in international education aid by 2026 (? $3.2 bn) and 6 million more children out of school, 30 % in humanitarian settings. The cuts affect programmes in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and South Sudan.
Why It Matters
Research linked to SHEFE showed girls with higher education are up to six times less likely to marry as children, face lower intimate-partner violence risk, and earn higher incomes. The programme’s removal eliminates technical assistance and direct funding that supported university partnerships in the regions.
Criticism and Opposition
Bond’s spokesperson warned cuts to women-focused programmes risk reversing progress on gender-based violence prevention. Charalambous called the cancellation a flagship initiative scrapped because of aid reductions. Joseph Nhan-O’Reilly, co-founder of the International Parliamentary Network for Education, called the decision a “huge mistake and betrayal of the sector.”
Conflicting Reports
Government statements claim funding for violence-against-women initiatives remains protected, yet SHEFE—a direct women-empowerment programme—has been terminated. Sources do not detail how the £45 million would be allocated across countries or the enrolment timeline, leaving uncertainty about the impact.
Verbatim Quotes
- “determined to work across borders to ensure women’s safety is a worldwide priority” — Yvette Cooper, Foreign Secretary
- “I'm alarmed that a flagship higher education programme designed to empower women and girls... appears to have been scrapped because of the aid cuts,” — Bambos Charalambous, Labour MP
- “A spokesperson at Bond, a UK network for organisations working in international development and humanitarian aid, said: “Any cuts to programmes that support women and girls, including through education, threaten to reverse hard-won progress on ending gender-based violence and exploitation, and advancing gender equality worldwide.” — Bond spokesperson
- “National security is the first duty of this government,” — FCDO spokesperson
Outlook
Parliamentary debate on the 2027 aid budget and defence spending is slated for later this year, determining the future of overseas education support for women and girls.
