A coalition of around 20 development and aid organisations is set to draw attention next Monday to the consequences of cuts to development cooperation and humanitarian aid. This follows the adoption of the Cabinet’s draft federal budget for 2027. In a jointly compiled report, the organisations demonstrate how the global decline in aid funding is worsening healthcare, exacerbating hunger – and putting millions of lives at risk. With a protest outside the Federal Chancellery, the coalition is sending a clear message against the drastic cuts planned by the federal government.

Since 2023, the budget of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has been cut by almost 20 per cent. The BMZ’s share of the federal budget is thus at its lowest level in 15 years. The German government has even halved funding for humanitarian aid compared with 2024, reducing it to around one billion euros. As a result, development cooperation and humanitarian aid now account for only around two per cent of the federal budget.

The organisations’ joint report, entitled “The Price of the Cuts”, uses striking figures to demonstrate the scale and far-reaching consequences of German and international funding cuts. By 2030, an estimated 9.4 to 22.6 million preventable deaths could go unaverted, including around five million children under the age of five. At the protest outside the Federal Chancellery, held under the slogan “Human dignity on sale”, the organisations are calling for a U-turn in the 2027 federal budget and for international funding commitments to be honoured.

Andreas Frick, Chief Executive of Misereor: “Cuts to poverty reduction programmes are hitting people at their most vulnerable in times of mounting crises. Our partner organisations, for example, support people in sustainable agriculture projects to help them adapt to climate change and thus secure their food supply, or to generate an income through training programmes. Anyone who undermines this work is not merely weakening abstract programmes, but destroying people’s prospects for the future.”

Charlotte Becker, Executive Director of Oxfam Germany: “Almost 700 million women live in conflict-affected regions, yet at the same time, funding for their protection and healthcare is being slashed worldwide. When health centres close and women’s rights organisations are forced to cease their work, there is a price to pay: women lose their lives, and girls lose their prospects. Germany must counter this trend, rather than exacerbating it through cuts. International solidarity with women and girls must not become a casualty of our tense global situation.”

Dagmar Pruin, President of Brot für die Welt and Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe: “The cuts are hitting global health particularly hard. We are seeing the consequences of this in the wake of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A deadly virus is encountering a weakened health system. Due to cuts by many donor countries in recent years, health projects have had to be terminated, staff made redundant and disease surveillance scaled back. As a result, the outbreak went undetected for a long time and is now costing many lives. It is disastrous when funding for the prevention of health crises such as pandemics is cut.”

Jan Sebastian Friedrich-Rust, Chief Executive of Action Against Hunger: “Global hunger has reached alarming proportions as a result of wars and the climate crisis. In light of this dramatic situation, reliable financial commitments and decisive political action are needed to prevent hunger crises and ensure that people in need have access to food and vital aid. If the German government cuts international aid in the 2027 budget, it is accepting that even more people will die.”

Karl-Otto Zentel, Secretary-General of CARE Germany: “If people in this country look the other way when another person needs help, it is called ‘failure to render assistance’. If Germany fails to help people in need worldwide, it is called ‘austerity policy’. These cuts come at an unacceptable price: more people without drinking water and food, more pregnant women and sick people without medical care – in short: less protection for the most vulnerable worldwide. These cuts are not just a matter of juggling figures; they have deadly consequences.”


Editorial notes:

• The dossier ‘The Price of Cuts’ is available to download via this link.
• Details of the protest:
• Time: 6 July, 9.30 am
• Venue: Willy-Brandt-Straße 1 (in front of the Federal Chancellery), 10557 Berlin
• Contact for registration and enquiries regarding the protest: Prokop Bowtromiuk, presse@brot-fuer-die-welt.de // prokop.bowtromiuk@brot-fuer-die-welt.de, +49 172 582 1313
• Photos of the protest will be available from around 11.00 am on 6 July via this link.
• If you are interested in interviews, please contact the Oxfam press contact listed above.